--- title: "Leiho vs Payload CMS: headless CMS comparison" description: "Open-source, code-first TypeScript CMS and app framework that runs inside a Next.js app; owned by Figma. Leiho takes another route: your content stays in WordPress, and editors click the real page of your own front end to change it." url: https://leiho.dev/compare/payload-cms lang: en updated: 2026-11-04 --- Compare # Leiho vs Payload CMS Open-source, code-first TypeScript CMS and app framework that runs inside a Next.js app; owned by Figma. Leiho takes another route: your content stays in WordPress, and editors click the real page of your own front end to change it. | | Leiho | Payload CMS | | --- | --- | --- | | Hosting | Your own WordPress, on any PHP host. Your front end stays wherever it is. | Self-hosted (any Node.js host, one-click templates for Vercel and Cloudflare); Enterprise can be hosted 'with Payload'. No public cloud plan is listed. | | Open source | Yes, GPL-2.0-or-later (plugin and bridge). | MIT; paid Enterprise tier for extra features. | | Pricing | Free. No seats, no usage limits. | Free: yes (self-hosted, MIT). No self-serve paid plan is listed; Enterprise is quote-based ('Get a Demo'). | | Visual editing | Yes: editors click text and images on the real front end, inside wp-admin, and it updates as they type. | Partial: Live Preview renders the front end in an iframe in the admin and updates as you type; an on-page 'point, click, edit' Visual Editor is listed as an Enterprise feature marked 'Coming Soon'. | | Content model | Leiho Collections (schema builder or leiho.schema.json), or your existing ACF fields. | Code (collections and fields defined in TypeScript config). | | AI | Writing with your brand context on every text field, through WordPress’s own AI connectors (WordPress 7.0+). | Enterprise AI features (writing assistant, translations, image generation) and automatic vector embeddings for RAG/AI search. | | MCP server | Yes, through the official WordPress MCP Adapter: agents read content and write drafts only. | Yes, official @payloadcms/plugin-mcp exposing /api/mcp. | | Localization | Built in, field by field: one entry holds every language, fields are translatable or shared, and AI or agents (MCP) translate what is missing. | Yes, built-in field-level localization. | | SEO and AI search | Built in: each collection maps its fields to schema.org, description and FAQ. Leiho serves JSON-LD, llms.txt and every page as Markdown, in every language. | Official SEO plugin adds meta title, description and image with generators and a preview. JSON-LD only as a field you add. No official llms.txt or Markdown endpoint. | Checked on 5 November 2026 from each vendor’s site. Prices and plans change: follow the sources below. - CMS and front end can live in one Next.js codebase and deployment. - Fully typed, code-defined schema with access control in code. - Works as an application framework, not just a CMS (auth, uploads, hooks). - Editors edit the real front end, inside wp-admin: they click a heading on the page and type. - Editors keep WordPress: their login, roles, media library and plugins. - Publishing follows your deployment, from a build hook to GitHub Actions or a self-hosted Coolify. ### Choose Payload CMS if… TypeScript/Next.js developers who want a code-first CMS embedded in their own app and full control of hosting. ### Choose Leiho if… Your team or your clients already know WordPress, you want them to edit the real page of a Next.js, Astro, Nuxt or SvelteKit site, and you’d rather not pay per seat or move content to a vendor’s cloud. ## Can I move from Payload CMS to Leiho? There is no automatic importer from Payload CMS. Leiho entries are WordPress posts, so content can be brought in with WordPress import tools or a script using Leiho’s PHP API. Your front-end components usually stay the same: only the data source and the annotations change. ## Do I need WordPress? Yes. Leiho is a WordPress plugin: WordPress stores the content and runs the back office. Any PHP host works, and your front end stays separate. Sources: [payloadcms.com](https://payloadcms.com/) · [payloadcms.com/get-started](https://payloadcms.com/get-started) · [payloadcms.com/docs/live-preview/overview](https://payloadcms.com/docs/live-preview/overview) · [payloadcms.com/enterprise/visual-editor](https://payloadcms.com/enterprise/visual-editor) · [payloadcms.com/enterprise/enterprise-ai](https://payloadcms.com/enterprise/enterprise-ai) · [payloadcms.com/docs/plugins/mcp](https://payloadcms.com/docs/plugins/mcp) · [payloadcms.com/docs/plugins/seo](https://payloadcms.com/docs/plugins/seo). Something out of date? [Tell us](https://github.com/pixelersagency/leiho/issues/new?title=Comparison%20update). Other comparisons - [**Leiho vs Sanity**](https://leiho.dev/compare/sanity) - [**Leiho vs Strapi**](https://leiho.dev/compare/strapi) - [**Leiho vs Contentful**](https://leiho.dev/compare/contentful) - [**Leiho vs Storyblok**](https://leiho.dev/compare/storyblok) - [**Leiho vs Directus**](https://leiho.dev/compare/directus) - [**Leiho vs Prismic**](https://leiho.dev/compare/prismic) - [**Leiho vs TinaCMS**](https://leiho.dev/compare/tinacms) - [**Leiho vs Builder.io**](https://leiho.dev/compare/builder-io) - [**Leiho vs Hygraph**](https://leiho.dev/compare/hygraph) - [**Leiho vs DatoCMS**](https://leiho.dev/compare/datocms) - [**Leiho vs Decap CMS**](https://leiho.dev/compare/decap-cms) - [**Leiho vs Keystatic**](https://leiho.dev/compare/keystatic) - [**Leiho vs Webflow (CMS)**](https://leiho.dev/compare/webflow) - [**Leiho vs Headless WordPress (ACF + WPGraphQL)**](https://leiho.dev/compare/wordpress-headless) ## Edit the real site. Free and open source. Try it on a real WordPress, in your browser. - [Try it in your browser](https://leiho.dev/try) - [View on GitHub](https://github.com/pixelersagency/leiho)