Payload CMS vs RevenueCat
TypeScript-first open-source headless CMS — code-first, config-driven
vs. Mobile subscription infrastructure — iOS + Android + web in one API
Pricing tiers
Payload CMS
Open Source (self-host)
MIT license. Run free on any Node host. Full admin + APIs.
$0 base (usage-based)
Cloud — Standard
$35/month. 3 GB DB storage, 30 GB file storage, 40 GB bandwidth.
$35/mo
Cloud — Pro
$199/month. Higher resources + priority support.
$199/mo
Cloud — Enterprise
Custom cloud hosting with dedicated support.
Custom
RevenueCat
Starter
$0. Free up to $2,500 MTR (monthly tracked revenue). All core features. Email support.
Free
Pro
$0 base + 1% of MTR above $2,500. All features + priority support + SLA.
$0 base (usage-based)
Enterprise
Custom. Volume discount, dedicated support, custom contract.
Custom
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing oss on Payload CMS vs starter on RevenueCat.
| Metric | Payload CMS | RevenueCat |
|---|---|---|
| No overlapping quota metrics for these tiers. | ||
Features
Payload CMS · 18 features
- Access Control — Function-based per-collection/field access rules.
- Admin UI — React admin — fully customizable components + views.
- Authentication — Built-in JWT + HTTP-only cookies + API keys.
- Blocks — Flexible page-builder pattern via block field.
- Collections — Schema-defined content types with fields, hooks, access control.
- Drafts & Versions — Version every change. Autosave, drafts, scheduled publish.
- Field Types — Rich field library: text, textarea, richText (Lexical), upload, relation, blocks…
- Form Builder Plugin — Dynamic forms with submissions storage.
- Globals — Single-instance documents (site settings, header, footer).
- GraphQL API (auto) — Full schema auto-generated.
- Hooks — Lifecycle hooks: beforeChange/Read/Delete, afterChange, etc.
- i18n — Multi-locale field values + admin UI translations.
- Live Preview — Side-by-side editor + iframe preview of Next.js site.
- Local API (zero latency) — Direct in-process data access. Ideal for Next.js server components.
- Multi-Tenancy Plugin — Multi-tenant content isolation via plugin.
- @payloadcms/plugin-seo — Built-in SEO meta fields.
- Plugins — Official + community plugins (SEO, Stripe, Form Builder, multi-tenant, etc.).
- REST API (auto) — Auto-generated REST endpoints for every collection.
RevenueCat · 13 features
- Audiences + Targeting — Target users by cohort, country, event.
- Charts — Cohort retention, LTV, MRR dashboards.
- Customer Center — Native UI for subscription management.
- Data Integrations — Push events to Mixpanel/Amplitude/Segment/etc.
- Entitlements — Server-authoritative feature unlocks independent of SKU.
- Experiments — Built-in A/B testing.
- Offerings + Packages — Remote product groupings + package targeting.
- Paywalls — Remote-configurable native paywall UI templates.
- Purchases — Unified purchase API across stores.
- Receipt Validation — Server-side App Store + Play receipt validation.
- Restore Purchases — Cross-device + reinstall restore.
- Web Billing (Stripe) — Accept subs via web with Stripe, reconcile with mobile.
- Webhooks — Subscription lifecycle events.
Developer interfaces
| Kind | Payload CMS | RevenueCat |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | create-payload-app | — |
| SDK | @payloadcms/next (Node) | RevenueCat Android SDK, RevenueCat Flutter, RevenueCat iOS SDK, RevenueCat React Native, RevenueCat Web Billing |
| REST | Payload REST API | RevenueCat REST API |
| GRAPHQL | Payload GraphQL API | — |
| OTHER | Admin UI, Local API (Node.js direct) | RevenueCat Dashboard, RevenueCat Webhooks |
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Outbound links to Payload CMS and RevenueCat are plain references to their official websites. Pricing is verified against vendor pages at publication time — reconfirm before buying.
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