Our take
Pick Directus if teams who will self-host the public app at $0 while they define a first collection, or start the Cloud Core 14-day trial and land on $89/month yearly (3 seats, 25 collections, 5 flows) when they do not want to run the stack. Pick Payload if next.js teams who will stay on the MIT self-host at $0 while they open a first Collections admin, then keep self-hosting (or wait for whatever Figma ships next)
**open-source headless CMS you run in Next
Best for
Directus Tables you start at $89 Cloud or $0 self-host
Payload Content you start at $0 on your host
Free plan
Directus $0 · cloud hosting on Core / Team is the add-on above. The page also describes an Open Innovation Grant (under $5M revenue, under 50 employees) for a free self-host license or Cloud at hosting-only $99 / month — confirm eligibility; do not treat it as a fourth public card
Payload $0 · mIT. You run Next.js + a database + media storage. Confirmed by the repo license and the Cloud FAQ (“Payload remains a self-hosted solution”)
Lowest paid
Directus The FAQ also prints Team at $499 / month annual ($5,988 / year) or $599 monthly. The live cards we fetched say $588 / $698. Cite the cards; confirm checkout. $499
Payload Not published by the vendor
Runs where
Directus Local; you host it
Payload Local or hosted
Watch out
Directus Core is 3 seats and 25 collections
Payload Cloud will not create a new project for you today
Last checked
Directus 2026-10-22 · directus.io/pricing
Payload 2026-10-23 · payloadcms.com/cloud-pricing
teams who will self-host the public app at $0 while they define a first collection, or start the Cloud Core 14-day trial and land on $89/month yearly (3 seats, 25 collections, 5 flows) when they do not want to run the stack.
Read the Directus pagenext.js teams who will stay on the MIT self-host at $0 while they open a first Collections admin, then keep self-hosting (or wait for whatever Figma ships next) because Payload Cloud will not create a new project for a non-Enterprise team today.
Read the Payload page