# Payload to HubSpot Content Hub migration > How to migrate from Payload to HubSpot Content Hub, with a side-by-side comparison and FAQs. --- ## Source: Payload - **Type:** headless - **Official site:** https://payloadcms.com - **Pricing:** https://payloadcms.com/enterprise - **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-28 ## Key advantages Payload is genuinely strong tech. It’s fast, open-source, developer-first, and perfect if you want full control over your content model. The Next.js integration is smooth, the admin UI is clean, and it’s one of the more flexible modern CMS options if your team prefers to build things exactly the way you want them. Just know that if you want actual features like visual editing, Vercel Blob storage, image handling, etc, you’ll be paying extra for the privilege. If you’re considering Payload or thinking about migrating into (or out of) it, reach out to us. We can help you figure out whether it’s the right stack or guide you toward a cleaner, saner (Sanity) setup. ### Integration with Next.js applications Payload works natively with Next.js, giving you clean data fetching and a smooth development flow. It removes the usual CMS friction so you can build fast, modern frontends without hacks. ### Fully customizable Everything is configured in code, which means you can tailor the CMS to your exact use case. You define the logic, workflows, and behaviour. ### Supports custom data models You can design any content structure your project needs, from simple documents to complex relational models. This gives you full control over how content is organised and delivered. ### Intuitive admin UI Payload’s admin panel is simple, clean, and fast. Editors can create, update, and manage content without training or digging through confusing menus. ### Custom plugins and APIs You can extend Payload however you like. Build custom fields, integrate external services, or add your own API routes. Perfect for teams that need deeper project-specific functionality. ### Built-in authentication Payload comes with user auth, roles, and access control baked in. No external auth service needed, and you can customise permissions to match your editorial workflow. ## Key pain points Payload’s biggest issue is how quickly it hands you the responsibility baton. Because it leans so heavily on self-hosting, you’re suddenly running databases, managing infra, dealing with scaling, and debugging auth quirks at 11 pm. And since the platform is still maturing, updates can feel unpredictable, and the surrounding ecosystem isn’t quite deep enough yet to soften the landing when something breaks. The recent Figma acquisition didn’t help either. Support has felt a bit lighter, and some priorities clearly shifted, alongside pricing. Payload feels flexible on day one, the moment your project grows you’re either engineering around gaps or paying more than expected. If you're debating whether Payload fits the future of your stack (or you’re already feeling the cracks), we’re always happy to help you plan a cleaner path or a migration that won’t come back to bite you. ### Steep learning curve Payload’s code-first approach means you need solid dev experience to use it effectively. Non-technical teams will struggle, and onboarding takes longer compared to more guided CMSs. ### Smaller ecosystem of plugins There aren’t many ready-made extensions, so you’ll end up building features yourself. This adds development time and increases long-term maintenance. ### Potential performance overhead Because it’s a full JavaScript backend, Payload can get resource-heavy under high traffic. You’ll need to optimise your server setup and monitor performance more closely. ### Gaps in documentation The docs are improving, but there are still missing pieces and unclear sections. New users often have to dig through GitHub issues to find answers. ### Small community The community is growing but still small, so there’s less shared knowledge, fewer tutorials, and slower troubleshooting compared to bigger CMS ecosystems. ### Requires separate hosting Payload doesn’t come with built-in hosting, so you’re responsible for setting up and managing your server. That adds extra cost, extra setup, and extra operational overhead. ## Target: HubSpot Content Hub - **Type:** headless - **Official site:** https://www.hubspot.com/products/content - **Pricing:** https://www.hubspot.com/pricing/content - **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-28 ## Key advantages HubSpot Content Hub (formerly CMS Hub) is designed so business users can update pages, run campaigns, and push content without ever Slacking a developer at 9 p.m. It’s genuinely simple to implement, the drag-and-drop editor behaves, and the CRM integration does all the heavy lifting, from personalization to lead capture to automated follow-ups. The Content Hub rebrand bolted Breeze AI onto all of it: Content Remix repurposes one piece of content into emails, social posts, and landing pages, and there’s built-in podcast and video hosting now too. You barely need a dev unless you’re trying to make something unusually fancy, because HubSpot’s whole pitch is: "Let marketing ship it themselves." But if you do want to build something more complex or need help figuring out where HubSpot fits into your stack, reach out. We can help you avoid unnecessary and very expensive upgrades, weird theme restrictions, and the classic "why is this locked behind Enterprise?" surprise. ### Intuitive drag-and-drop interface Non-technical teams can update pages, layouts, and content without ever pinging a developer. The editor is straightforward, visual, and fast, making day-to-day site changes painless. ### Deep CRM integration Forms, leads, emails, CTAs, and all of it connect back to HubSpot’s CRM automatically. This gives teams real personalisation power and a unified view of how users move from visitor to lead to customer. ### Built-in SEO tools and analytics HubSpot flags issues, suggests improvements, and provides performance insights without extra tools. It’s practical for teams who want clear SEO direction baked directly into the CMS. ### Secure cloud hosting with SSL/CDN Hosting, security patches, SSL, and updates are all handled by HubSpot. Sites stay fast and secure without anyone babysitting servers or worrying about downtime. ### AI content tools with Content Remix Breeze AI is baked into the editor. Content Remix repurposes existing pages and posts into new formats, and the AI writer handles first drafts. Useful for small teams that publish across several channels. ### Live WYSIWYG previews Changes can be reviewed in real time before publishing, which reduces mistakes and makes approvals easier. What you see in the editor actually matches what goes live ## Key pain points HubSpot Content Hub has its perks, but you practically need a Mr. Moneybags subscription to keep the lights on. Pricing shoots up the moment you add seats, automations, or anything remotely "enterprise," and you can only hope the pricing team doesn’t wake up one day and charge the equivalent of a beach-facing villa. It’s also not winning any awards for flexibility. Deep customization is limited, the theme system is rigid, and you’re stuck learning HubL, a proprietary template language that no one dreams about using. The plugin ecosystem is tiny compared to WordPress, so advanced requirements usually mean custom builds, workarounds, or giving up. And yes, parts of the system can feel slow and clunky when you least expect it. If you’re okay with the trade-offs, great. If not, you know where to find us. ### Expensive pricing structure HubSpot gets pricey really fast with every new seat, feature, or automation. It ends up feeling like a fresh subscription to financial pain. ### Limited customization flexibility The theme system is rigid, and anything beyond surface-level edits usually needs a developer. "Drag-and-drop" has limits… and you’ll hit them quickly. ### Smaller theme and plugin ecosystem Compared to WordPress or open-source giants, HubSpot’s marketplace feels tiny with fewer prebuilt solutions and more custom work. ### Proprietary HubL language Say hello to HubL, HubSpot’s own templating language. It works… but only in HubSpot. Enjoy the vendor lock-in. ### Platform lock-in Once you're in, getting out feels like moving out of a house with 14 years of hoarded junk. Migration isn’t fun. ### E-commerce limitations Content Hub can run landing pages and lead funnels, but full-scale eCommerce? Not its game and definitely not its strength. ## Frequently asked questions ### How hard is it to migrate away from Payload CMS? Payload stores content in MongoDB or Postgres, so extracting your data is straightforward compared to proprietary platforms. The real work is restructuring your content model for the target CMS and rebuilding any custom access control logic you've written. We typically complete Payload migrations in 3 to 6 weeks depending on how much custom backend logic is involved. The code-first nature of Payload means most of the content model is well-documented in your own codebase, which actually makes migration planning easier. ### What are the main reasons teams leave Payload? The most common reasons we hear are infrastructure fatigue and ecosystem gaps. Payload requires you to manage your own database, hosting, auth, and scaling. Teams that chose Payload for its developer flexibility eventually realise they're spending more time on DevOps than on content features. The Figma acquisition in 2025 also shifted priorities. Payload paused new Cloud project deployments afterward (existing projects keep running), and some teams feel the platform's direction became less predictable. Visual editing and live preview still require significant custom engineering compared to platforms that ship them natively. ### What does a Payload to Sanity migration cost? For a typical content site with 200 to 1,000 documents, we estimate 4 to 6 weeks of work. The bulk of effort goes into rebuilding the admin experience and frontend integration, not the data transfer itself. Payload's MongoDB exports are clean, so content migration scripts run reliably. The cost depends heavily on how much custom auth logic and access control you've built, since that needs to be rebuilt in the target platform's permission system. We scope every migration individually after reviewing your Payload config.