EasySiteControl

EasySiteControl vs Payload

The closest thing to us on the market — same data-ownership stance, opposite answer on who writes the code.

What Payload is

Payload is a code-first, MIT-licensed CMS that installs into your own application — most often a Next.js app — and stores content in a database you supply, MongoDB included. Configuration is TypeScript, so your content model is version-controlled, type-safe and reviewed like any other code. For a developer who wants the CMS inside their app, it is excellent, and it is the product on this list closest to our own position on data ownership.

The difference that actually matters

We agree with Payload about where data belongs and disagree about who should be writing configuration. Payload's content model is TypeScript in your repository: powerful, type-safe, versioned, and requiring a developer and a deploy for every change. Ours is a hosted dashboard: a non-developer can add a field or an endpoint without a pull request, and there is no application for you to run. If your team is all developers, Payload's approach is probably better. If content changes are blocked on developer time, ours is.

Side by side

 PayloadEasySiteControl
Who runs the CMSYou — it is part of your appWe host and maintain the dashboard; you run nothing
Where records liveYour database — MongoDB or PostgresYour own MongoDB — Atlas, self-hosted, anywhere
Defining content typesTypeScript config, version-controlled, needs a deployDashboard, applied live, no deploy
Who can change the modelA developerAnyone with the right role
Type safetyGenerated TypeScript types across your appServer-side validation; no generated client types
Custom API logicAnything you can write in TypeScriptVisual step canvas — powerful, but bounded
Cost shapeFree self-hosted + your infra; Cloud from ~$35/moFlat per project; you supply the infra

Pricing and capabilities for Payload last checked on 20 August 2026. Products change — check the sources below before making a decision on this.

Choose Payload if

  • Your team is developers and you want the content model in version control, reviewed in pull requests
  • You want generated TypeScript types flowing through your whole application
  • You want the CMS living inside your Next.js app rather than calling out to one
  • You need custom logic that exceeds what a visual step builder can express — arbitrary code beats any canvas
  • You want MIT licensing and no vendor relationship at all

Choose EasySiteControl if

  • Non-developers need to change the content model without waiting for a developer or a deploy
  • You do not want to run, patch and upgrade another application
  • You are running many client projects and want each isolated in the client's own database, managed from one place
  • You want endpoints assembled and test-run visually, with per-step execution logs, rather than written and redeployed

Sources

See it against your own data

Attach your MongoDB and model something real. About a minute.

Create your workspace
vs Strapivs Contentfulvs Sanity