PagieraA CMS for content models, a builder for pages.
Both run in your Next.js app and both are open source. The real question is whether editors fill in fields or design the page.
Payload is an open-source, code-first CMS: you define collections in code and editors fill in forms in an admin panel inside your Next.js app. Pagiera is a visual page builder: editors arrange layout, data, interactions and motion on a canvas. Choose Payload for structured content; choose Pagiera for visually built pages—or use both.
At a glance06
- 01Editor runs inside your appPagieraPayload
- 02Open-source licensePagieraPayload
- 03Content in your own databasePagieraPayload
- 04Free-form visual canvasPagieraPayload
- 05Storage, drafts and publishing includedPagieraPayload
- 06Pages bind to your own APIsPagieraPayload
Side by side05
| Pagiera | Payload | |
|---|---|---|
| Editing model | Visual canvas. | Admin forms for fields and blocks. |
| Content model | Page documents. | Collections defined in code. |
| Where it runs | Inside your Next.js app. | Inside your Next.js app. |
| Database | PostgreSQL. | Your choice of supported databases. |
| License | MIT. | MIT. |
Choose Pagiera when…
- Editors design layout and responsive behaviour themselves.
- Landing pages need interactions and motion without new code.
- You want a visual canvas rather than a form per block.
Choose Payload when…
- Your content is structured data: articles, products, authors.
- You want collections, fields and access control defined in code.
- Developers own the layout and editors own the words.
Yes, and well. Keep articles and products in Payload, expose them through its API, and bind Pagiera pages to that API with Request and Repeat.
Pagiera vs Payload
Questions
For pages, yes: drafts, publishing and revisions. It does not define arbitrary content collections the way Payload does.
Yes. Point a Repeat block at a Payload REST endpoint and bind the fields.
No. Each mounts its own routes; they share only your Next.js app.
Other comparisons05
- 01Open-source editorPagiera vs PuckBoth embed in your React app. One brings the backend too.
- 02Hosted visual CMSPagiera vs Builder.ioThe same idea, opposite ownership.
- 03Visual builder for ReactPagiera vs PlasmicTwo visual builders for React, two places to edit.
- 04Hosted site builderPagiera vs WebflowOne is a platform you join. The other is a package you install.
- 05Hosted site builderPagiera vs FramerA polished hosted builder, or a builder that lives in your code.
Say hi to Pagiera and build your first page
Install the package and have the studio running in minutes.
bun add pagiera