Okno vs Payload
Pick Payload for a TypeScript application that needs a backend, not only a content editor. Otherwise Okno keeps the content in your own repository, next to the code, and leaves you nothing to run.
| What is being compared | Payload | Okno |
|---|---|---|
| Content lives | In your own files | In your repository, next to the code |
| If you leave | Your files, you keep them | Nothing to move. You already have it all |
| Caps | None on this plan | None |
| Free | All of it | Everything, but on your own machine only |
| You pay | Nothing, you run the server | Only on a day you edit the live site, max €200 a year |
Where Payload wins
- Yes: A real backend: authentication, access control and background jobs
- Yes: TypeScript-native, configured in code
- Yes: Free and open source to self-host
Where Okno wins
- Yes: Payload is a server you run, with a database behind it. Okno is a Vite plugin, with neither.
- Yes: Payload edits in an admin app at its own route. Okno edits the page a visitor is looking at.
- Yes: Payload's managed hosting is enterprise-only, so self-hosting is the real path. Okno has nothing to host.
What it costs
Payload Self-hosted
Free you run the server
Okno Free while you build
€120 never more than €200 a year
Compare something else
Self-hosted plan, publicly listed price as of June 2026, normalised to euros and annualised, priced for 1 editor, 1 language and 10 collections. Check Payload's own pricing page before relying on it. See something off? support@okno.build.