{
  "data": {
    "a": {
      "slug": "buttercms",
      "name": "ButterCMS",
      "vendor": "ButterCMS LLC",
      "vendorUrl": "https://buttercms.com",
      "kind": "http-api",
      "category": "cms",
      "summary": "ButterCMS is a hosted headless CMS with pages, collections and a blog engine. Agents read content through a REST Read API and create, update, publish and delete it through a REST Write API sold as a paid add-on.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/buttercms",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/buttercms.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/buttercms.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/buttercms.json",
      "repo": "https://github.com/ButterCMS/buttercms-js",
      "license": "Proprietary service under ButterCMS's terms of service. The SDKs and starter projects on GitHub are MIT",
      "transports": [
        "http"
      ],
      "remoteUrl": "https://api.buttercms.com/v2",
      "packages": [
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "buttercms"
        },
        {
          "registry": "pypi",
          "name": "buttercms-python"
        }
      ],
      "auth": "api-key",
      "authNotes": "Self-serve for reads, paid add-on for writes. A person signs up in a browser and copies the read token from Settings. The write token exists only after the Write API add-on is bought under Settings, Billing, or enabled by support, and one docs page says this needs verification. The read token goes in the `auth_token` query parameter or an `Authorization: Token` header. The write token is accepted in the header only. There is one token of each kind per account, with no scopes, and the docs say tokens are rotated by contacting support. No OAuth, app review or sales approval for the listed plans.",
      "pricing": "freemium",
      "pricingNotes": "The Free plan needs no card and includes 50,000 API calls a month, but not the Write API. Writing needs Advanced ($249 a month, $224 billed yearly) or Professional ($399, $359 billed yearly) plus the Write API add-on, whose price is not published, with 2,000 or 5,000 write calls a month. Enterprise includes it and is sold through sales. Every plan has a 14-day trial (https://buttercms.com/pricing/, checked 2026-10-09).",
      "priceSummary": "$79 / mo",
      "where": "hosted",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the API docs, the OpenAPI files or the pricing page (checked 2026-10-09).",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": null,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": null,
        "npmWeekly": 6929,
        "pypiWeekly": null,
        "asOf": "2026-10-09"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://buttercms.com/docs/api/overview",
      "llmsTxt": "https://buttercms.com/docs/llms.txt",
      "openapi": "https://buttercms.com/docs/api/openapi/openapi.yaml",
      "capabilities": [
        "cms.content",
        "cms.publish",
        "cms.assets",
        "cms.localisation"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "official",
        "hosted",
        "closed-source",
        "api-key",
        "openapi",
        "llms-txt",
        "webhooks",
        "free-tier",
        "no-card",
        "status-page",
        "javascript",
        "python",
        "php",
        "ruby"
      ],
      "lastRelease": "2025-09-04",
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 53.3,
        "grade": "D",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 711,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 950,
        "categoryRank": 14,
        "methodology": "0.4",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 64,
          "maintenance": 27,
          "payments": 20,
          "reliability": 83,
          "schema": 78,
          "security": 36,
          "transparency": 51
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-09"
        },
        "negative": -2,
        "negativeNotes": [
          "9 October 2026. The docs page on AI tools shows `butter.page.update(...)` as the way to write through the JavaScript SDK. The published SDK 3.0.3 has list, retrieve and search methods only, and the SDK overview says to call REST for writes (https://buttercms.com/docs/build-your-app/third-party-integrations/ai-tools-integration.md, https://github.com/ButterCMS/buttercms-js). 2 points."
        ],
        "verdict": "The Read and Write APIs have a public OpenAPI 3.1 file, Markdown docs and a status page with no incident since October 2025. The Write API is a paid add-on from the $249 plan, capped at 2,000 or 5,000 calls a month. Writes answer 202 with no identifier, support rotates tokens, and the terms are an undated website document.",
        "bestFor": "A team already on a paid ButterCMS plan that wants an agent to draft and publish pages, collection items and blog posts in small volumes.",
        "strengths": [
          "Public OpenAPI 3.1 files for the Read and Write APIs (25 operations, 328 examples), a docs llms.txt and a Markdown copy of every docs page",
          "status.buttercms.com lists three components and no incident since 20 October 2025",
          "Writes create drafts unless `status` is `published`, and the write token is separate from the read token and accepted only in a header",
          "Media fields take a URL and the service copies the file into the media library, so one request creates an entry with its image",
          "Free plan with no card and 50,000 API calls a month for reading, and dollar prices for four plans on the pricing page"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "The Write API is a paid add-on on Advanced ($249 a month) and Professional ($399), capped at 2,000 and 5,000 write calls a month. Its price is not published",
          "Create and update calls answer 202 with `{\"status\": \"pending\"}` and no identifier, and there are no idempotency keys",
          "One read token and one write token per account, with no scopes. The docs say rotation is done by contacting support",
          "Page types and collections cannot be created through the API, pages cannot be deleted through it, and it has no version or rollback operation",
          "The terms are an undated website Terms of Service, the privacy policy dates from 15 August 2022 and covers the website, and a DPA is on request for Enterprise only",
          "No API changelog or deprecation policy was found. The JavaScript SDK's last release was 3.0.3 on 4 September 2025 and it has no write methods"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "End every path with a slash. A missing slash returns a 301, and the vendor counts the redirect and the retry as two API calls",
          "Send the write token only as `Authorization: Token \u003ctoken\u003e`. The `auth_token` query parameter works for reads only",
          "On page creation send every field key of the page type, with empty strings for fields left blank",
          "A 202 means queued, not saved. Read the entry back with `preview=1` to confirm, and check a slug exists before retrying a create",
          "Call the REST API directly for writes. The JavaScript SDK 3.0.3 has list, retrieve and search methods only"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "remote",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 0,
        "avgRating": 0,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "D",
            "methodology": "0.4",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 53.3
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 64,
          "maintenance": 27,
          "payments": 20,
          "reliability": 83,
          "schema": 78,
          "security": 36,
          "transparency": 26
        },
        "provenanceScore": 76
      },
      "connect": {
        "install": "npm install buttercms --save",
        "http": "curl -H \"Authorization: Token your_api_token\" \\\n     \"https://api.buttercms.com/v2/posts/\""
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/cms.content",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/buttercms"
      },
      "area": "business",
      "unitPrices": [
        {
          "item": "Basic",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 79,
          "note": "billed monthly, $71 billed yearly, 100,000 API calls, no Write API"
        },
        {
          "item": "Advanced",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 249,
          "note": "billed monthly, $224 billed yearly, 500,000 API calls, Write API add-on priced separately (up to 2,000 write calls)"
        },
        {
          "item": "Professional",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 399,
          "note": "billed monthly, $359 billed yearly, 1M API calls, Write API add-on priced separately (up to 5,000 write calls)"
        }
      ],
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "ButterCMS LLC",
        "domain": "buttercms.com",
        "domainRegistered": "2015-03-24",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": true,
        "terms": "https://buttercms.com/terms/",
        "privacy": "https://buttercms.com/privacy/",
        "statusPage": "https://status.buttercms.com",
        "changelog": "",
        "securityTxt": "none",
        "checked": "2026-10-09",
        "notes": [
          "The privacy policy (last modified 15 August 2022) names ButterCMS LLC. The terms name only Butter and ButterCMS, carry no date, give a San Francisco postal address for DMCA notices and choose Michigan law.",
          "The terms are written as website Terms of Service and define the Website to include the services on it. The Write API's OpenAPI file names this page as its licence, so it is the only published contract for the API. No separate service agreement, API terms or SLA document was found.",
          "The privacy policy covers information collected on the website and says nothing about content stored in the CMS. The docs say a data processing agreement is available to Enterprise customers on request.",
          "A status page post about a DNS outage on 9 September 2024 says ButterCMS was acquired by Tiugo Technologies, and the site's careers link goes to Tiugo's recruiting page.",
          "The API answers at api.buttercms.com and the dashboard at app.buttercms.com.",
          "buttercms.com/.well-known/security.txt returns 404. The docs give security@buttercms.com for vulnerability reports.",
          "RDAP for buttercms.com gives a registration date of 2015-03-24 and Amazon Registrar, Inc. as registrar.",
          "No API changelog was found on the site or in the docs index. The JavaScript SDK repository has a CHANGELOG.md."
        ],
        "score": 76
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/buttercms.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "buttercms",
        "probe": {
          "target": "https://api.buttercms.com/v2",
          "method": "get",
          "lastAt": "2026-10-10T01:37:47.182936507Z",
          "lastOk": false,
          "lastStatus": 0,
          "lastMs": 0,
          "lastNote": "too many redirects",
          "authRequired": false,
          "uptime24h": 0,
          "uptime30d": 0,
          "p50ms24h": 0,
          "p95ms24h": 0,
          "samples24h": 102,
          "samples30d": 102,
          "days": [
            {
              "date": "2026-10-09",
              "probes": 85,
              "ok": 0
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-10",
              "probes": 17,
              "ok": 0
            }
          ],
          "outages": [
            {
              "start": "2026-10-09T15:43:00.096294667Z",
              "end": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
              "note": "too many redirects"
            }
          ]
        },
        "vendorStatus": {
          "page": "https://status.buttercms.com",
          "indicator": "none",
          "summary": "All Systems Operational",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-10T01:33:24.288962271Z"
        },
        "versions": [
          {
            "registry": "github",
            "name": "ButterCMS/buttercms-js",
            "version": "v3.0.3",
            "released": "2025-09-04",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:44:18.698940824Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "npm",
            "name": "buttercms",
            "version": "3.0.3",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:44:17.650332238Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "pypi",
            "name": "buttercms-python",
            "version": "2.1.1",
            "released": "2024-05-07",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:44:18.477928122Z"
          }
        ],
        "githubStars": 164,
        "npmWeekly": 6929,
        "pypiWeekly": 1093,
        "pages": [
          {
            "url": "https://buttercms.com/pricing/",
            "kind": "pricing",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:33:26.750327748Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "9ba825b44b86"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://buttercms.com/privacy/",
            "kind": "privacy",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:33:29.190691009Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "908b6461f1b9"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://buttercms.com/terms/",
            "kind": "terms",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:33:31.259657517Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "8862b63c94a5"
          }
        ],
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-10T01:37:47.182936507Z"
      }
    },
    "answer": "Payload scores 55.2 (C) on agent readiness against ButterCMS's 53.3 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. ButterCMS leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation.",
    "b": {
      "slug": "payload",
      "name": "Payload",
      "vendor": "Payload CMS, Inc. (Figma)",
      "vendorUrl": "https://payloadcms.com",
      "kind": "http-api",
      "category": "cms",
      "summary": "Payload is an open-source, code-first headless CMS and application framework for Node.js and Next.js, now part of Figma. Agents manage content, drafts, versions and locales through generated REST and GraphQL APIs or an official MCP plugin.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/payload",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/payload.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/payload.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/payload.json",
      "repo": "https://github.com/payloadcms/payload",
      "license": "MIT for the core and the official packages. Enterprise add-ons are sold separately through sales",
      "transports": [
        "http",
        "streamable-http"
      ],
      "packages": [
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "payload"
        },
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "@payloadcms/plugin-mcp"
        },
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "@payloadcms/sdk"
        }
      ],
      "auth": "api-key",
      "authNotes": "Self-serve keys on your own instance, with no app review or partner approval. REST and GraphQL take a per-user API key sent as `Authorization: {collection-slug} API-Key {key}` once `auth.useAPIKey` is set on an auth collection. The key signs requests in as that user under the collection's access control, doesn't expire, is shown once, and can be regenerated or revoked by an admin. The MCP plugin has its own keys, created in the admin panel under MCP API Keys with find, create, update and delete switches per collection, sent as `Authorization: Bearer {key}`. Changing `PAYLOAD_SECRET` invalidates every key.",
      "pricing": "free",
      "pricingNotes": "Free to self-host under the MIT licence, with no account at Payload and no card, so an agent can start without a contract. Enterprise (SSO, publishing workflows, visual editor, dedicated support) is sold through sales with no public price. Payload Cloud has paused deployment of new projects since Payload joined Figma (checked 2026-10-08).",
      "priceSummary": "Free · OSS",
      "where": "local",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the 3.x documentation, the get-started page or the MCP plugin source (checked 2026-10-08).",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": null,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": 45151,
        "npmWeekly": 1108564,
        "pypiWeekly": null,
        "asOf": "2026-10-08"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://payloadcms.com/docs",
      "llmsTxt": "https://payloadcms.com/llms.txt",
      "capabilities": [
        "cms.content",
        "cms.publish",
        "cms.localisation",
        "cms.assets",
        "cms.schema"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "open-source",
        "self-hosted",
        "mcp",
        "llms-txt",
        "graphql",
        "rest",
        "typescript",
        "nextjs"
      ],
      "lastRelease": "2026-09-23",
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 55.2,
        "grade": "C",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 665,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 950,
        "categoryRank": 13,
        "methodology": "0.4",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 64,
          "maintenance": 78,
          "payments": 45,
          "reliability": 78,
          "schema": 70,
          "security": 57,
          "transparency": 62
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-08"
        },
        "negative": -10,
        "negativeNotes": [
          "18 September to 8 October 2026. Payload published 38 security advisories in three weeks, 49 in the 12 months to 8 October 2026 (8 critical, 23 high, 18 medium). They include remote code execution through the first-register operation (GHSA-97rh-rhh2-7vjv), SQL injection on Postgres and SQLite (GHSA-v49j-62m6-pgrr), unauthorised document updates on orderable collections (GHSA-f7hx-52q9-hcrf) and four in `@payloadcms/plugin-mcp`, one an account takeover through the experimental password recovery tool (GHSA-h5rh-4jwf-738p). All are fixed in 3.90.0 or earlier, each was published by the vendor with affected versions and a workaround, and we found no report of exploitation, so we deduct 10 of a possible 15. https://github.com/payloadcms/payload/security/advisories"
        ],
        "verdict": "Payload generates REST, GraphQL and MCP interfaces from one typed config, with drafts, restorable versions and per-key MCP permissions in the free MIT core. The security record is the limit. The vendor published 49 advisories in 12 months, 8 of them critical, so an install older than 3.90.0 is exposed. No OpenAPI file is published.",
        "bestFor": "Teams that build on Next.js and want the content model in TypeScript, with drafts, versions and localisation in the free core.",
        "strengths": [
          "MIT core with drafts, version history and restore through `POST /api/{collection-slug}/versions/:id`, none of it behind a paid plan",
          "MCP API keys carry find, create, update and delete switches per collection, and the key's user still passes through the collection's access control",
          "New documents default to `_status: 'draft'`, so nothing is published unless the request sets `_status: 'published'`",
          "MCP find tools default to 10 documents and depth 0, cap at 100, and take `select` to return named fields only",
          "llms.txt per major version, llms-full.txt and a Markdown copy of every docs page"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "49 security advisories in the 12 months to 8 October 2026, 8 critical, 38 of them published since 18 September 2026",
          "No OpenAPI file is published or generated by the core packages, and REST error responses have no reference page",
          "REST and MCP API keys don't expire, and rate limiting is left to the owner's own hooks or proxy",
          "No idempotency keys, and the MCP tools set no `readOnlyHint` or `destructiveHint` annotations",
          "Payload Cloud is closed to new projects, Enterprise is priced by sales, and no status page or security.txt was found"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "Check the installed version first. Anything below 3.90.0 carries published critical advisories, so ask the owner to upgrade before writing",
          "Send REST keys as `Authorization: {collection-slug} API-Key {key}` and MCP keys as `Authorization: Bearer {key}`. The two key kinds are separate",
          "To publish, set `_status: 'published'` in the data. The `draft` parameter only relaxes validation and chooses where an update is written",
          "Upload files with multipart POST to the upload collection, with other fields as JSON in `_payload`. No MCP upload tool is documented",
          "Roll back with `POST /api/{collection-slug}/versions/:id` after listing versions. Versions exist only where the collection config enables them"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "local",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 0,
        "avgRating": 0,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "C",
            "methodology": "0.4",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 55.2
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 64,
          "maintenance": 78,
          "payments": 45,
          "reliability": 78,
          "schema": 70,
          "security": 57,
          "transparency": 74
        },
        "provenanceScore": 50
      },
      "connect": {
        "install": "npx create-payload-app",
        "http": "curl 'http://localhost:3000/api/pages' \\\n  -H \"Authorization: users API-Key $PAYLOAD_API_KEY\"",
        "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http Payload http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/mcp \\\n  --header \"Authorization: Bearer MCP-USER-API-KEY\"",
        "config": {
          "mcpServers": {
            "Payload": {
              "headers": {
                "Authorization": "Bearer MCP-USER-API-KEY"
              },
              "type": "http",
              "url": "http://localhost:3000/api/mcp"
            }
          }
        }
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/cms.content",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/payload"
      },
      "area": "business",
      "unitPrices": [
        {
          "item": "Self-hosted Payload",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 0,
          "note": "MIT, you pay for your own hosting and database"
        }
      ],
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "Payload CMS, Inc.",
        "domain": "payloadcms.com",
        "domainRegistered": "2018-04-02",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": false,
        "terms": "",
        "privacy": "https://payloadcms.com/privacy",
        "statusPage": "",
        "changelog": "https://github.com/payloadcms/payload/releases",
        "securityTxt": "none",
        "checked": "2026-10-08",
        "notes": [
          "No `terms` is recorded. The only terms on payloadcms.com are the Payload Cloud terms at https://payloadcms.com/cloud-terms, which govern a hosted service closed to new projects. The software an agent uses is under the MIT licence in LICENSE.md.",
          "The privacy policy (effective 28 March 2024) names Payload CMS, Inc. as controller. The Cloud terms call it a Delaware corporation with an address at 624 Stocking Ave. NW, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49504. LICENSE.md names Payload CMS, LLC.",
          "The site says Payload has joined Figma. The privacy policy and the Cloud terms don't mention Figma.",
          "A self-hosted install answers on its owner's domain.",
          "https://payloadcms.com/.well-known/security.txt and https://payloadcms.com/security.txt returned 404 on 8 October 2026. SECURITY.md gives security@payloadcms.com.",
          "No status page is linked from the site footer, the security page or the get-started page, and status.payloadcms.com didn't resolve.",
          "RDAP for payloadcms.com gives a registration date of 2018-04-02."
        ],
        "score": 50
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/payload.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "payload",
        "versions": [
          {
            "registry": "github",
            "name": "payloadcms/payload",
            "version": "v3.90.2",
            "released": "2026-09-23",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:12:11.388759776Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "npm",
            "name": "@payloadcms/plugin-mcp",
            "version": "3.90.2",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:12:07.657473594Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "npm",
            "name": "@payloadcms/sdk",
            "version": "3.90.2",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:12:09.433932063Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "npm",
            "name": "payload",
            "version": "3.90.2",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:12:06.452715631Z"
          }
        ],
        "githubStars": 45169,
        "npmWeekly": 978799,
        "securityTxt": {
          "url": "https://payloadcms.com/.well-known/security.txt",
          "state": "none",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T15:40:09.37606023Z"
        },
        "llmsTxt": {
          "url": "https://payloadcms.com/llms.txt",
          "ok": true,
          "status": 200,
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T14:02:34.390993883Z"
        },
        "pages": [
          {
            "url": "https://payloadcms.com/privacy",
            "kind": "privacy",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:43:04.138715081Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "f0ac80167ab5"
          }
        ],
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T18:43:04.138715081Z"
      }
    },
    "facts": [
      {
        "a": "HTTP API",
        "b": "HTTP API",
        "name": "Kind"
      },
      {
        "a": "ButterCMS LLC",
        "b": "Payload CMS, Inc. (Figma)",
        "name": "Vendor"
      },
      {
        "a": "https://api.buttercms.com/v2",
        "b": "no (local only)",
        "name": "Hosted endpoint"
      },
      {
        "a": "HTTP",
        "b": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP",
        "name": "Transports"
      },
      {
        "a": "API key",
        "b": "API key",
        "name": "Auth"
      },
      {
        "a": "Freemium",
        "b": "Free",
        "name": "Pricing"
      },
      {
        "a": "no",
        "b": "no",
        "name": "x402"
      },
      {
        "a": "Proprietary service under ButterCMS's terms of service. The SDKs and starter projects on GitHub are MIT",
        "b": "MIT for the core and the official packages. Enterprise add-ons are sold separately through sales",
        "name": "Licence"
      },
      {
        "a": "no",
        "b": "no",
        "name": "Read-only variant documented"
      },
      {
        "a": "yes",
        "b": "yes",
        "name": "llms.txt"
      },
      {
        "a": "2025-09-04",
        "b": "2026-09-23",
        "name": "Last release"
      },
      {
        "a": "no date given",
        "b": "no document linked",
        "name": "Terms last updated"
      },
      {
        "a": "2022-08-15",
        "b": "2024-03-28",
        "name": "Privacy policy last updated"
      },
      {
        "a": "not found in the text",
        "b": "",
        "name": "Customer content may train models"
      },
      {
        "a": "not found in the text",
        "b": "",
        "name": "Terms restrict automated access"
      },
      {
        "a": "not found in the text",
        "b": "",
        "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking"
      },
      {
        "a": "not found in the text",
        "b": "",
        "name": "Terms or service can change without notice"
      },
      {
        "a": "not found in the text",
        "b": "",
        "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver"
      },
      {
        "a": "6.9k npm/wk",
        "b": "45k stars, 1.1M npm/wk",
        "name": "Popularity"
      }
    ],
    "faq": [
      {
        "answer": "Payload scores 55.2 (C) on agent readiness against ButterCMS's 53.3 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. ButterCMS leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation.",
        "question": "Which is better for AI agents, ButterCMS or Payload?"
      },
      {
        "answer": "Both need an API key.",
        "question": "Do ButterCMS and Payload need an API key?"
      },
      {
        "answer": "ButterCMS has a hosted endpoint at https://api.buttercms.com/v2. No hosted endpoint is listed for Payload.",
        "question": "Can an agent call ButterCMS and Payload without installing anything?"
      },
      {
        "answer": "No open-source release is listed for ButterCMS. Payload is open source (MIT for the core and the official packages. Enterprise add-ons are sold separately through sales).",
        "question": "Are ButterCMS and Payload open source?"
      }
    ],
    "goodFor": [
      {
        "aheadOn": [
          "Reliability, 83 against 78",
          "Schema \u0026 documentation, 78 against 70"
        ],
        "also": [
          "A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install",
          "Free to start without a card"
        ],
        "goodFor": "A team already on a paid ButterCMS plan that wants an agent to draft and publish pages, collection items and blog posts in small volumes.",
        "slug": "buttercms",
        "watchFor": "The Write API is a paid add-on on Advanced ($249 a month) and Professional ($399), capped at 2,000 and 5,000 write calls a month. Its price is not published"
      },
      {
        "aheadOn": [
          "Security \u0026 auth, 57 against 36",
          "Payments \u0026 pricing, 45 against 20",
          "Maintenance \u0026 community, 78 against 27",
          "Transparency \u0026 trust, 62 against 51"
        ],
        "also": [
          "Open source"
        ],
        "goodFor": "Teams that build on Next.js and want the content model in TypeScript, with drafts, versions and localisation in the free core.",
        "slug": "payload",
        "watchFor": "49 security advisories in the 12 months to 8 October 2026, 8 critical, 38 of them published since 18 September 2026"
      }
    ],
    "job": {
      "capability": "cms.content",
      "name": "Content management"
    },
    "others": [
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-contentstack.json",
        "title": "ButterCMS vs Contentstack",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-contentstack"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-datocms.json",
        "title": "ButterCMS vs DatoCMS",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-datocms"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-directus.json",
        "title": "ButterCMS vs Directus",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-directus"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-ghost.json",
        "title": "ButterCMS vs Ghost",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-ghost"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-hygraph.json",
        "title": "ButterCMS vs Hygraph",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-hygraph"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-kontent-ai.json",
        "title": "ButterCMS vs Kontent.ai",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-kontent-ai"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-prismic.json",
        "title": "ButterCMS vs Prismic",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-prismic"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-sanity.json",
        "title": "ButterCMS vs Sanity",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-sanity"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-storyblok.json",
        "title": "ButterCMS vs Storyblok",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-storyblok"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-strapi.json",
        "title": "ButterCMS vs Strapi",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-strapi"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-webflow.json",
        "title": "ButterCMS vs Webflow",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-webflow"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-wordpress.json",
        "title": "ButterCMS vs WordPress",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-wordpress"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/contentstack-vs-payload.json",
        "title": "Contentstack vs Payload",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/contentstack-vs-payload"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datocms-vs-payload.json",
        "title": "DatoCMS vs Payload",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datocms-vs-payload"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/directus-vs-payload.json",
        "title": "Directus vs Payload",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/directus-vs-payload"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-payload.json",
        "title": "Ghost vs Payload",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-payload"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hygraph-vs-payload.json",
        "title": "Hygraph vs Payload",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hygraph-vs-payload"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kontent-ai-vs-payload.json",
        "title": "Kontent.ai vs Payload",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kontent-ai-vs-payload"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-prismic.json",
        "title": "Payload vs Prismic",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-prismic"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-sanity.json",
        "title": "Payload vs Sanity",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-sanity"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-storyblok.json",
        "title": "Payload vs Storyblok",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-storyblok"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-strapi.json",
        "title": "Payload vs Strapi",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-strapi"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-webflow.json",
        "title": "Payload vs Webflow",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-webflow"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-wordpress.json",
        "title": "Payload vs WordPress",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-wordpress"
      }
    ],
    "scores": [
      {
        "buttercms": 83,
        "by": 5,
        "edge": "buttercms",
        "key": "reliability",
        "name": "Reliability",
        "payload": 78,
        "weight": 16
      },
      {
        "key": "performance",
        "name": "Performance",
        "pending": true,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "buttercms": 78,
        "by": 8,
        "edge": "buttercms",
        "key": "schema",
        "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation",
        "payload": 70,
        "weight": 13
      },
      {
        "buttercms": 64,
        "by": 0,
        "edge": "",
        "key": "ergonomics",
        "name": "Agent ergonomics",
        "payload": 64,
        "weight": 13
      },
      {
        "buttercms": 36,
        "by": 21,
        "edge": "payload",
        "key": "security",
        "name": "Security \u0026 auth",
        "payload": 57,
        "weight": 14
      },
      {
        "buttercms": 20,
        "by": 25,
        "edge": "payload",
        "key": "payments",
        "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing",
        "payload": 45,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "key": "tasks",
        "name": "Task success",
        "pending": true,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "buttercms": 27,
        "by": 51,
        "edge": "payload",
        "key": "maintenance",
        "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community",
        "payload": 78,
        "weight": 7
      },
      {
        "buttercms": 51,
        "by": 11,
        "edge": "payload",
        "key": "transparency",
        "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust",
        "payload": 62,
        "weight": 7
      }
    ],
    "summary": "Payload scores 55.2 (C) on agent readiness against ButterCMS's 53.3 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. ButterCMS leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation. Both do content management.",
    "verdicts": {
      "buttercms": "The Read and Write APIs have a public OpenAPI 3.1 file, Markdown docs and a status page with no incident since October 2025. The Write API is a paid add-on from the $249 plan, capped at 2,000 or 5,000 calls a month. Writes answer 202 with no identifier, support rotates tokens, and the terms are an undated website document.",
      "payload": "Payload generates REST, GraphQL and MCP interfaces from one typed config, with drafts, restorable versions and per-key MCP permissions in the free MIT core. The security record is the limit. The vendor published 49 advisories in 12 months, 8 of them critical, so an install older than 3.90.0 is exposed. No OpenAPI file is published."
    }
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  "links": {
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    "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-payload",
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    "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt",
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  "markdown": "Payload scores 55.2 (C) on agent readiness against ButterCMS's 53.3 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. ButterCMS leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation. Both do content management.\n\n- ButterCMS: grade D, 53.3/100, rank #711 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/buttercms.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/buttercms.json\n- Payload: grade C, 55.2/100, rank #665 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/payload.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/payload.json\n- Best headless CMS and website publishing for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/cms/index.md\n- All 91 cms comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cms/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### ButterCMS (D)\n\nGood for: A team already on a paid ButterCMS plan that wants an agent to draft and publish pages, collection items and blog posts in small volumes.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 83 against 78\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 78 against 70\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install\n- Free to start without a card\n\nWatch for: The Write API is a paid add-on on Advanced ($249 a month) and Professional ($399), capped at 2,000 and 5,000 write calls a month. Its price is not published\n\n### Payload (C)\n\nGood for: Teams that build on Next.js and want the content model in TypeScript, with drafts, versions and localisation in the free core.\n\nAhead on:\n- Security \u0026 auth, 57 against 36\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 45 against 20\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 78 against 27\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 62 against 51\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Open source\n\nWatch for: 49 security advisories in the 12 months to 8 October 2026, 8 critical, 38 of them published since 18 September 2026\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | ButterCMS | Payload | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 83 | 78 | ButterCMS +5 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 78 | 70 | ButterCMS +8 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 64 | 64 | even |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 36 | 57 | Payload +21 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 45 | Payload +25 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 27 | 78 | Payload +51 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 51 | 62 | Payload +11 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | -10 | |\n| **Total** | | **53.3 · D** | **55.2 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | ButterCMS | Payload |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | ButterCMS LLC | Payload CMS, Inc. (Figma) |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.buttercms.com/v2` | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Proprietary service under ButterCMS's terms of service. The SDKs and starter projects on GitHub are MIT | MIT for the core and the official packages. Enterprise add-ons are sold separately through sales |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2025-09-04 | 2026-09-23 |\n| Terms last updated | no date given | no document linked |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2022-08-15 | 2024-03-28 |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text |  |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text |  |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text |  |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text |  |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text |  |\n| Popularity | 6.9k npm/wk | 45k stars, 1.1M npm/wk |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**ButterCMS.** The Read and Write APIs have a public OpenAPI 3.1 file, Markdown docs and a status page with no incident since October 2025. The Write API is a paid add-on from the $249 plan, capped at 2,000 or 5,000 calls a month. Writes answer 202 with no identifier, support rotates tokens, and the terms are an undated website document.\n\n**Payload.** Payload generates REST, GraphQL and MCP interfaces from one typed config, with drafts, restorable versions and per-key MCP permissions in the free MIT core. The security record is the limit. The vendor published 49 advisories in 12 months, 8 of them critical, so an install older than 3.90.0 is exposed. No OpenAPI file is published.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### ButterCMS\n\n1. End every path with a slash. A missing slash returns a 301, and the vendor counts the redirect and the retry as two API calls\n2. Send the write token only as `Authorization: Token \u003ctoken\u003e`. The `auth_token` query parameter works for reads only\n3. On page creation send every field key of the page type, with empty strings for fields left blank\n4. A 202 means queued, not saved. Read the entry back with `preview=1` to confirm, and check a slug exists before retrying a create\n5. Call the REST API directly for writes. The JavaScript SDK 3.0.3 has list, retrieve and search methods only\n\n### Payload\n\n1. Check the installed version first. Anything below 3.90.0 carries published critical advisories, so ask the owner to upgrade before writing\n2. Send REST keys as `Authorization: {collection-slug} API-Key {key}` and MCP keys as `Authorization: Bearer {key}`. The two key kinds are separate\n3. To publish, set `_status: 'published'` in the data. The `draft` parameter only relaxes validation and chooses where an update is written\n4. Upload files with multipart POST to the upload collection, with other fields as JSON in `_payload`. No MCP upload tool is documented\n5. Roll back with `POST /api/{collection-slug}/versions/:id` after listing versions. Versions exist only where the collection config enables them\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, ButterCMS or Payload?\n\nPayload scores 55.2 (C) on agent readiness against ButterCMS's 53.3 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. ButterCMS leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation.\n\n### Do ButterCMS and Payload need an API key?\n\nBoth need an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call ButterCMS and Payload without installing anything?\n\nButterCMS has a hosted endpoint at https://api.buttercms.com/v2. No hosted endpoint is listed for Payload.\n\n### Are ButterCMS and Payload open source?\n\nNo open-source release is listed for ButterCMS. Payload is open source (MIT for the core and the official packages. Enterprise add-ons are sold separately through sales).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-payload.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-payload.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"buttercms\", \"b\": \"payload\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare buttercms payload`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/buttercms.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/payload.json\n\n## Other comparisons with ButterCMS or Payload\n\n- [ButterCMS vs Contentstack](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-contentstack.md)\n- [ButterCMS vs DatoCMS](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-datocms.md)\n- [ButterCMS vs Directus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-directus.md)\n- [ButterCMS vs Ghost](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-ghost.md)\n- [ButterCMS vs Hygraph](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-hygraph.md)\n- [ButterCMS vs Kontent.ai](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-kontent-ai.md)\n- [ButterCMS vs Prismic](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-prismic.md)\n- [ButterCMS vs Sanity](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-sanity.md)\n- [ButterCMS vs Storyblok](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-storyblok.md)\n- [ButterCMS vs Strapi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-strapi.md)\n- [ButterCMS vs Webflow](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-webflow.md)\n- [ButterCMS vs WordPress](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-wordpress.md)\n- [Contentstack vs Payload](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/contentstack-vs-payload.md)\n- [DatoCMS vs Payload](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datocms-vs-payload.md)\n- [Directus vs Payload](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/directus-vs-payload.md)\n- [Ghost vs Payload](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-payload.md)\n- [Hygraph vs Payload](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hygraph-vs-payload.md)\n- [Kontent.ai vs Payload](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kontent-ai-vs-payload.md)\n- [Payload vs Prismic](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-prismic.md)\n- [Payload vs Sanity](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-sanity.md)\n- [Payload vs Storyblok](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-storyblok.md)\n- [Payload vs Strapi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-strapi.md)\n- [Payload vs Webflow](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-webflow.md)\n- [Payload vs WordPress](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-wordpress.md)\n",
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