# MDX blog vs Payload blog for Next.js

Both are content batteries. A repo takes one of them, not both.

| | MDX blog | Payload blog |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | A file-based blog: posts are MDX files in `content/blog`, compiled at build time by @next/mdx. Ships validated frontmatter, a prerendered index and post pages, a per-post OG image, an RSS 2.0 feed and sitemap entries. | Payload CMS running inside this Next.js app, with the admin panel at /cms. Content lives in the Postgres database you already chose. Blog pages read through the local API, not over HTTP. Drafts autosave, previews are authenticated and SQL migrations are committed. |
| Pricing | Free. No vendor, no seats, no API quota. The only cost is build time. | Free and open source (MIT). You host it, so the cost is the Postgres and Vercel functions you already pay for. Payload also sells an Enterprise plan with dedicated support and SSO. It has no public price. |
| Best for | Engineering blogs, changelogs, docs-adjacent writing and any site where the writers already have commit access. Best when posts should go through review with the code they describe. Also when a post needs to import a real component from the app. | Teams who want editors in an admin UI but will not put their content in someone else's database. Strong when CMS content joins application data. Also when you need custom fields, hooks or access rules a hosted CMS will not give you. Or when data residency and export matter. |

- [Build with MDX blog](https://agenticboilerplate.com/build?b=blog-mdx)
- [Build with Payload blog](https://agenticboilerplate.com/build?b=blog-payload)

---

Agentic Boilerplate: A Next.js repo your agent already knows. Free during launch, then $99 once.

- Site map for agents: https://agenticboilerplate.com/llms.txt
- Public API: https://agenticboilerplate.com/openapi.json
- Contact: agenticstudio@gmail.com