diff --git a/docs/jobs-queue/queues.mdx b/docs/jobs-queue/queues.mdx
index ee5b7d6ddd..4e002b8bdc 100644
--- a/docs/jobs-queue/queues.mdx
+++ b/docs/jobs-queue/queues.mdx
@@ -25,7 +25,33 @@ Then, you could configure two different runner strategies:
 
 ## Executing jobs
 
-As mentioned above, you can queue jobs, but the jobs won't run unless a worker picks up your jobs and runs them. This can be done in two ways:
+As mentioned above, you can queue jobs, but the jobs won't run unless a worker picks up your jobs and runs them. This can be done in four ways:
+
+#### Cron jobs
+
+You can use the jobs.autoRun property to configure cron jobs:
+
+```ts
+export default buildConfig({
+  // Other configurations...
+  jobs: {
+    tasks: [
+      // your tasks here
+    ],
+    // autoRun can optionally be a function that receives payload as an argument
+    autoRun: [
+      {
+        cron: '0 * * * *', // every hour at minute 0
+        limit: 100, // limit jobs to process each run
+        queue: 'hourly', // name of the queue
+      },
+      // add as many cron jobs as you want
+    ],
+  },
+})
+```
+
+<Banner type="warning">autoRun is intended for use with a dedicated server that is always running, and should not be used on serverless platforms like Vercel.</Banner>
 
 #### Endpoint
 
diff --git a/packages/payload/src/index.ts b/packages/payload/src/index.ts
index 599c060681..4ccf6e9126 100644
--- a/packages/payload/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/payload/src/index.ts
@@ -63,6 +63,8 @@ import type {
 } from './types/index.js'
 import type { TraverseFieldsCallback } from './utilities/traverseFields.js'
 export type { FieldState } from './admin/forms/Form.js'
+import { Cron } from 'croner'
+
 import type { TypeWithVersion } from './versions/types.js'
 
 import { decrypt, encrypt } from './auth/crypto.js'
@@ -712,6 +714,25 @@ export class BasePayload {
         await this.config.onInit(this)
       }
     }
+    if (this.config.jobs.autoRun) {
+      const DEFAULT_CRON = '* * * * *'
+      const DEFAULT_LIMIT = 10
+
+      const cronJobs =
+        typeof this.config.jobs.autoRun === 'function'
+          ? await this.config.jobs.autoRun(this)
+          : this.config.jobs.autoRun
+      await Promise.all(
+        cronJobs.map((cronConfig) => {
+          new Cron(cronConfig.cron ?? DEFAULT_CRON, async () => {
+            await this.jobs.run({
+              limit: cronConfig.limit ?? DEFAULT_LIMIT,
+              queue: cronConfig.queue,
+            })
+          })
+        }),
+      )
+    }
 
     return this
   }
diff --git a/packages/payload/src/queues/config/types/index.ts b/packages/payload/src/queues/config/types/index.ts
index 45d39025f4..fec620d9a1 100644
--- a/packages/payload/src/queues/config/types/index.ts
+++ b/packages/payload/src/queues/config/types/index.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,38 @@
 import type { CollectionConfig } from '../../../index.js'
-import type { PayloadRequest } from '../../../types/index.js'
+import type { Payload, PayloadRequest } from '../../../types/index.js'
 import type { TaskConfig } from './taskTypes.js'
 import type { WorkflowConfig } from './workflowTypes.js'
 
+export type CronConfig = {
+  /**
+   * The cron schedule for the job.
+   * @default '* * * * *' (every minute).
+   *
+   * @example
+   *     ┌───────────── minute (0 - 59)
+   *     │ ┌───────────── hour (0 - 23)
+   *     │ │ ┌───────────── day of the month (1 - 31)
+   *     │ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1 - 12)
+   *     │ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of the week (0 - 6) (Sunday to Saturday)
+   *     │ │ │ │ │
+   *     │ │ │ │ │
+   *  - '0 * * * *' every hour at minute 0
+   *  - '0 0 * * *' daily at midnight
+   *  - '0 0 * * 0' weekly at midnight on Sundays
+   *  - '0 0 1 * *' monthly at midnight on the 1st day of the month
+   *  - '0/5 * * * *' every 5 minutes
+   */
+  cron?: string
+  /**
+   * The limit for the job. This can be overridden by the user. Defaults to 10.
+   */
+  limit?: number
+  /**
+   * The queue name for the job.
+   */
+  queue?: string
+}
+
 export type RunJobAccessArgs = {
   req: PayloadRequest
 }
@@ -19,14 +49,18 @@ export type JobsConfig = {
      */
     run?: RunJobAccess
   }
-  /**
-   * Adds information about the parent job to the task log. This is useful for debugging and tracking the flow of tasks.
+  /** Adds information about the parent job to the task log. This is useful for debugging and tracking the flow of tasks.
    *
    * In 4.0, this will default to `true`.
    *
    * @default false
    */
   addParentToTaskLog?: boolean
+  /**
+   * Queue cron jobs automatically on payload initialization.
+   * @remark this property should not be used on serverless platforms like Vercel
+   */
+  autoRun?: ((payload: Payload) => CronConfig[] | Promise<CronConfig[]>) | CronConfig[]
   /**
    * Determine whether or not to delete a job after it has successfully completed.
    */