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Craft CMS vs Payload CMS:哪個 CMS 在 2026 年勝出?

PHP 優雅與 TypeScript 原生無頭架構的碰撞

Quick Answer

Choose Craft CMS if you need a polished editorial experience, Twig templating for designers, and a mature PHP plugin ecosystem. Choose Payload CMS if you're building with Next.js and want a TypeScript-native CMS embedded directly in your app with no licensing costs. Payload is the stronger choice for modern headless architectures; Craft excels at editorial UX and traditional CMS workflows.

Craft CMS

A flexible, designer-loved PHP CMS with elegant content modeling

PricingFree (Solo), $259/yr (Team), $799/yr (Enterprise)
API StyleGraphQL (native), REST (via Element API plugin)
Learning CurveModerate
Best ForAgencies and designers building bespoke content-driven sites with strong editorial UX requirements.
HostingSelf-hosted on any PHP 8.2+ server, DDEV for local dev
Open SourceNo

Payload CMS

TypeScript-native headless CMS that lives inside your Next.js app

PricingFree (MIT license), Payload Cloud from $0-499/mo
API StyleREST and GraphQL (both auto-generated), Local API (direct DB access)
Learning CurveModerate
Best ForTypeScript developers building headless or hybrid sites who want their CMS and front end in one codebase.
HostingSelf-hosted on any Node.js host, Vercel, Docker, or Payload Cloud
Open SourceYes

Feature Comparison

FeatureCraft CMSPayload CMS
Live Preview
Asset management
Multi-site support Partial
Headless / API mode
Localization / i18n
Built-in admin panel
TypeScript type safety
Role-based access control
Native Next.js integration
Version control for schemas
Plugin / extension ecosystem
Visual field layout designer

What is Craft CMS?

Craft CMS is a commercial PHP CMS built on the Yii2 framework, known for its elegant control panel and flexible content modeling. It uses Twig for server-side templating and offers a native GraphQL API for headless use. Craft has been the go-to CMS for design-focused agencies since its launch in 2013.

What is Payload CMS?

Payload CMS is an open-source, TypeScript-native headless CMS that can run directly inside a Next.js application. Acquired by Vercel in 2025, it auto-generates REST and GraphQL APIs from TypeScript config files and offers a Local API that bypasses HTTP entirely. With 105K+ weekly npm downloads, it's one of the fastest-growing CMS platforms in the JavaScript ecosystem.

Key Differences

01

Architecture: PHP Runtime vs TypeScript-Native

Craft CMS runs on PHP via the Yii2 framework, requiring a LAMP/LEMP stack or PHP-capable host. Payload runs on Node.js and can be embedded directly inside a Next.js application. This architectural difference means Craft always requires separate CMS infrastructure, while Payload can share a deployment with your front end — eliminating an entire server from your stack.

02

Content Modeling: Visual Designer vs Config-as-Code

Craft offers a drag-and-drop field layout designer in the control panel, letting non-developers visually arrange content fields into tabs and columns. Payload defines content models as TypeScript configuration files that live in your Git repo. Craft's approach is more accessible; Payload's approach is more maintainable at scale and enables CI/CD for schema changes.

03

Pricing: Commercial License vs MIT Open Source

Craft CMS requires a $259/year Team license or $799/year Enterprise license for multi-user projects. The free Solo tier is limited to a single admin account. Payload CMS is MIT-licensed with no feature restrictions — you only pay if you use Payload Cloud hosting. For agencies managing multiple client projects, Payload's zero licensing cost adds up to significant savings.

04

API & Data Access: GraphQL Endpoint vs Local API

Both CMSs offer REST and GraphQL APIs, but Payload has a unique advantage: its Local API. When Payload runs inside your Next.js app, you can query content directly from the database without any HTTP request. This eliminates network latency entirely, resulting in faster TTFB and simpler error handling compared to Craft's GraphQL endpoint, which always requires a network hop.

05

Ecosystem Maturity: Decade of Plugins vs Rapid Growth

Craft has been around since 2013 with a rich ecosystem of first-party and community plugins — SEOmatic, Neo, Super Table, Commerce, and hundreds more. Payload is newer but growing at 105K+ weekly npm downloads. Its plugin ecosystem is thinner but the TypeScript-native architecture makes extending it with custom code more straightforward than writing PHP plugins.

Performance Comparison

MetricCraft CMSPayload CMS
TTFB 100-300ms typical with caching, PHP execution adds overhead 50-150ms with Local API (no network hop to CMS)
Build tool N/A (runtime rendering via Yii2) Next.js / Webpack / Turbopack
Base JS bundle ~0KB (server-rendered Twig) ~0KB when using SSR/SSG (React admin separate)
Lighthouse range 85-100 90-100

SEO Comparison

SEO FeatureCraft CMSPayload CMS
SSG support
SSR support
Schema markup
Meta tag control
Open Graph control
Sitemap generation

Craft CMS

Pros
  • Best-in-class content authoring UX — the control panel is genuinely pleasant to use.
  • Twig templating is approachable for designers who aren't full-stack developers.
  • Mature plugin ecosystem with 10+ years of community contributions.
  • Excellent multi-site and localization support built into core.
  • Flexible content modeling with Matrix fields, Neo, and visual field layouts.
Cons
  • PHP runtime means you need separate infrastructure from modern JS front ends.
  • Commercial license required for teams ($259/yr minimum), adding recurring cost.
  • No TypeScript types for content — API responses are untyped without manual work.
  • Headless mode works but feels bolted on rather than architecturally native.

Payload CMS

Pros
  • Runs inside your Next.js app — no separate CMS server, no API latency via Local API.
  • Full TypeScript type generation means your content types flow through your entire codebase.
  • MIT-licensed and genuinely free — no feature gating or per-seat pricing.
  • Vercel acquisition (2025) ensures deep Next.js and edge platform integration going forward.
  • Config-as-code approach means content models live in version control alongside your app.
Cons
  • Younger ecosystem — fewer plugins and community resources than Craft's decade-old library.
  • Admin panel is clean but less polished than Craft's for non-technical editors.
  • Requires TypeScript/Node.js expertise — not accessible to PHP or no-code teams.
  • Multi-site support is possible but requires manual configuration, not a core feature yet.

When to Choose Craft CMS

  • Your team has PHP expertise and wants a refined editorial experience out of the box.
  • Designers need to build templates directly using Twig without a JavaScript build step.
  • You need multi-site management with shared content models across properties.
  • The project prioritizes editorial UX polish over developer-first headless architecture.

When to Choose Payload CMS

  • You're building with Next.js and want zero CMS infrastructure overhead.
  • TypeScript type safety across your content layer is non-negotiable.
  • Budget matters — you need a powerful CMS with no licensing fees.
  • You want your content schema version-controlled and deployable like application code.

Can You Migrate?

Yes. We've migrated 5,000+ sites between platforms. We handle data migration, content modeling, frontend rebuilds, and SEO preservation. Every migration is zero-downtime.

Frequently Asked Questions

Payload CMS 相比 Craft CMS 真的免費嗎?

Payload CMS 採用 MIT 授權且免費自託管 — 沒有功能限制,沒有隱藏費用。Craft CMS 有免費的 Solo 層級,但僅限一位使用者。多使用者專案需要購買 Pro 授權,每年 $259。Payload Cloud 提供付費託管方案,但核心軟體本身完全免費。

Craft CMS 能作為無頭 CMS 使用嗎?

Craft CMS 通過內建 GraphQL API 和 Element API 外掛支援無頭模式。你可以完全解耦前端,使用 Next.js、Astro 或任何偏好的框架。話說回來,Craft 原本是作為傳統 CMS 設計的 — 無頭只是功能補充,不是核心架構。它能用,但有時你會感覺到這點。

Vercel 收購 Payload CMS 對開發者意味著什麼?

Vercel 在 2025 年初收購了 Payload。這是個大事件。它表明未來會深度整合 Next.js 和 Vercel 平台。Payload 保持 MIT 授權和開源,所以那方面沒有變化。但預期會有更緊密的 Next.js App Router 支援、更順暢的 Vercel 部署流程,以及可能一些你在其他地方找不到的原生生態系功能。路線圖背後有十足動力。

Craft CMS 或 Payload CMS,哪個內容建模更好?

兩個系統的內容建模都不錯,但方式完全不同。Craft 在控制面板提供視覺化欄位版面設計器 — 設計師可以拖曳欄位到標籤和欄位,無需接觸程式碼。Payload 將內容模型定義為 TypeScript 設定檔。你的模式存在版本控制中,完全具有型別安全。Craft 是視覺化的。Payload 是程式碼優先的。兩個都沒錯,但你會很快知道哪個適合你的團隊。

在 Next.js 專案中應該使用 Craft CMS 還是 Payload CMS?

對於 Next.js 專案,Payload 是顯而易見的選擇。它在 Next.js 應用內原生執行,所以你的 CMS 和前端共享相同的程式碼庫和部署方式。Craft 可以通過 GraphQL 向 Next.js 提供資料,但需要單獨的 PHP 伺服器。這增加了你根本不需要的基礎設施複雜性和延遲。

Craft CMS 或 Payload CMS,哪個對大型編輯團隊更好?

Craft CMS 的編輯體驗更強。其控制面板精緻、直覺,且已經過十多年的實戰考驗。即時預覽、拖放欄位版面和細粒度使用者權限全部開箱即用。Payload 的管理面板簡潔且進步迅速 — 真的很快 — 但對非技術編輯來說,Craft 仍領先一步。不過那個差距在縮小。

我能從 Craft CMS 遷移到 Payload CMS 嗎?

遷移是可行的,但需要規劃。你需要將內容模型重新建立為 Payload TypeScript 設定,從 Craft 的資料庫(MySQL 或 PostgreSQL)匯出內容,並針對 Payload 的 Local API 編寫導入指令碼。目前還沒有自動遷移工具,所以要為自訂指令碼和內容驗證預留時間。別低估最後一部分。

哪個 CMS 的 SEO 效能更好?

兩者都支援 SSG 和 SSR、中繼標籤控制、網站地圖和結構化資料 — SEO 基礎在任何一方都涵蓋了。真正的差異在架構上。Payload 嵌入 Next.js 消除了 CMS 和前端之間的 API 往返,能改善 TTFB。Craft 的 GraphQL 增加了網路跳轉。原始效能上,Payload 的單一部署模型有優勢。

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