Source: https://seerepo.com/compare/bluesky-social/atproto/vs/payloadcms/payload
Markdown source: https://seerepo.com/compare/bluesky-social/atproto/vs/payloadcms/payload.md
Description: atproto and payload share 16 technologies: @aws-sdk/lib-storage, AWS S3, Postgres, Redis, SQLite, Vite, React, TanStack, Zod, jose, sharp, pino, @standard-schema/spec, react-error-boundary, nodemailer, and file-type. Both are written in TypeScript.

# atproto vs payload

atproto and payload share 16 technologies: @aws-sdk/lib-storage, AWS S3, Postgres, Redis, SQLite, Vite, React, TanStack, Zod, jose, sharp, pino, @standard-schema/spec, react-error-boundary, nodemailer, and file-type. Both are written in TypeScript.

- [bluesky-social/atproto](https://seerepo.com/r/bluesky-social/atproto): Social networking technology created by Bluesky
- [payloadcms/payload](https://seerepo.com/r/payloadcms/payload): Payload is the open-source, fullstack Next.js framework, giving you instant backend superpowers. Get a full TypeScript backend and admin panel instantly. Use Payload as a headless CMS or for building powerful applications.

## What they share and what sets them apart

- In common: @aws-sdk/lib-storage, AWS S3, Postgres, Redis, SQLite, Vite, React, TanStack, Zod, jose, sharp, pino, @standard-schema/spec, react-error-boundary, nodemailer, file-type
- Only in atproto: Express, lru-cache, Expo, react-native-mmkv, @opentelemetry/instrumentation-ioredis, kysely, @hapi/address, disposable-email-domains-js, @opentelemetry/semantic-conventions, pino-http, OpenTelemetry, com.nimbusds:nimbus-jose-jwt, Tailwind CSS, class-variance-authority, tailwind-merge, Base UI, Lucide, @hcaptcha/react-hcaptcha, lande, prom-client, @opentelemetry/instrumentation-pg, @opentelemetry/instrumentation-aws-sdk
- Only in payload: Next.js, Sentry, @next/env, MongoDB, graphql-scalars, graphql-http, Vue, bson-objectid, Stripe, MCP, @azure/storage-blob, Google Cloud, aws-sdk, Vercel, @clack/prompts, Drizzle, prompts, amazon-cognito-identity-js, @monaco-editor/react, react-datepicker, sanitize-filename, image-dimensions, sax, pino-pretty, escape-html, csv-parse, csv-stringify, lexical, @lexical/markdown, mdast-util-from-markdown, mdast-util-mdx-jsx, micromark-extension-mdx-jsx, faceless-ui, sonner, dnd-kit, react-select, monaco-editor, @floating-ui/dom, react-image-crop

## Side by side

| | atproto | payload |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 385,793 lines written, 1,878 code files | 1,083,381 lines written, 4,527 code files |
| Who writes it | 3.2% of its commits signed by AI. With Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, and Codex | 0.6% of its commits signed by AI. With GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, and Cursor |
| Activity | Last push November 14, 2026, 3,489 commits, 9,728 stars | Last push November 13, 2026, 14,834 commits, 45,802 stars |
| Tests | 556 test files. 22.9% of its code files have a test that imports them | 2,502 test files. 14.1% of its code files have a test that imports them |

- Size: Lines written by people and agents, without generated ones; code files, without tests.
- Who writes it: A commit counts as AI's when it carries its signature: a Co-Authored-By line, its author name or the merge of its branch.
- Activity: From GitHub and its history, on the day SeeRepo read it.
- Tests: The files that test the code, and the share of code files a test imports.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which is bigger, atproto or payload?

payload, with 1,083,381 lines written; atproto has 385,793.

The proof: [payloadcms/payload's code at commit ae5e1dc](https://github.com/payloadcms/payload/tree/ae5e1dc62b4e469902dd2aaa79eca6fe117bd416)

### Which has more GitHub stars, atproto or payload?

payload, with 45,802 stars; atproto has 9,728.

The proof: [payloadcms/payload on GitHub](https://github.com/payloadcms/payload)

### Which has more tests, atproto or payload?

payload, with 2,502 test files; atproto has 556.

The proof: [payloadcms/payload's code at commit ae5e1dc](https://github.com/payloadcms/payload/tree/ae5e1dc62b4e469902dd2aaa79eca6fe117bd416)

### Which was updated more recently, atproto or payload?

atproto: its last push was on November 14, 2026, and payload's on November 13, 2026.

The proof: [bluesky-social/atproto's commits on GitHub](https://github.com/bluesky-social/atproto/commits)

### Which has more commits signed by AI, atproto or payload?

atproto: an AI signed 3.2% of its commits, with Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, and Codex; in payload, 0.6%.

The proof: [the commits each tool signed in bluesky-social/atproto](https://seerepo.com/r/bluesky-social/atproto/ai)

## Sources

- bluesky-social/atproto: Read on November 14, 2026, at commit 9f605e0 (https://github.com/bluesky-social/atproto/tree/9f605e0fb117173dea8b5c1e9d6ad13bd6995c7f)
- payloadcms/payload: Read on November 13, 2026, at commit ae5e1dc (https://github.com/payloadcms/payload/tree/ae5e1dc62b4e469902dd2aaa79eca6fe117bd416)

## What is your repo built with?

Any public repo, with no account: https://seerepo.com/r/owner/repo/built, with the owner and name it has on GitHub.