Instead of Webflow

Visual site builder with a CMS attached.

Partly

Payload gives developers a CMS that does not fight them. It does not give a designer a canvas, so the person who built the site in Webflow may not be the person who maintains it now.

You lose: The visual editor and hosting that never breaks.

Start here

Payload CMS

MITa weekendactive

A developer CMS with a good admin UI. The front end is yours.

github.com/payloadcms/payload payloadcms.com

A database, object storage or mail config, plus backups.

Also worth a look

WagtailBSD-3-Clausea weekendactive
Django CMS, excellent for editorial teams, no visual builder.
github.com/wagtail/wagtail wagtail.org
StrapiMIT (open core)an eveningactive
Quick to start. The licence has changed before; read it.
github.com/strapi/strapi strapi.io

Facts checked 8 November 2026. Licences, activity and archive status come from each project's own repository; the verdict and the cost lines are the desk's.