Is Caddy or Directus better?

Neither clearly leads. Caddy starts at Free and Directus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Caddy or Directus?

Caddy starts at Free and Directus at Free.

Does Caddy or Directus run on more platforms?

Caddy runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker. Directus runs on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.

Can I use Caddy for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is Caddy best used for?

Caddy is most often used for sites and services where expired certificates have caused outages before, small deployments where nginx configuration is more effort than the problem warrants, reverse proxying internal services with tls without a certificate workflow. Of those, sites and services where expired certificates have caused outages before and small deployments where nginx configuration is more effort than the problem warrants are not what Directus is typically brought in for.

What can Caddy do that Directus cannot?

Caddy covers Automatic HTTPS, Caddyfile, Reverse proxy, Single binary. Directus covers REST API, GraphQL API, Database management, PostgreSQL.

Cloud · head to head

Caddy vs Directus

Caddy

Cloud

Web server with automatic HTTPS by default

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Directus

APIs

Open-source data platform providing REST and GraphQL APIs

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Caddy smaller ecosystem than Nginx, so third-party guides and modules are fewer; Directus free permissive use of the self hosted product is limited to organisations under $5M annual revenue with fewer than 50 employees, so crossing either threshold turns a free dependency into a paid licence
They diverge on capability: Caddy covers Automatic HTTPS, Directus covers REST API.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Caddy and Directus actually diverge.

Attributes where Caddy and Directus differ
Attribute	Caddy	Directus
Pricing model	Open source, no licence fee	open-source
Platforms	Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker	Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker
Category	Cloud	APIs
Founded	Unknown	2014

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Caddy

Automatic HTTPS
Caddyfile
Reverse proxy
Single binary

Only in Directus

REST API
GraphQL API
Database management
PostgreSQL
MySQL
SQLite
Webhooks
Node.js support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Caddy

Sites and services where expired certificates have caused outages beforenot Directus
Small deployments where Nginx configuration is more effort than the problem warrantsnot Directus
Reverse proxying internal services with TLS without a certificate workflownot Directus

Directus

Wrapping an existing SQL database in a REST and GraphQL API with an admin interfacenot Caddy
Running a self hosted headless CMS over a schema you already ownnot Caddy

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Caddy

Smaller ecosystem than Nginx, so third-party guides and modules are fewer
Adding plugins means rebuilding the binary rather than loading a module
Under very high throughput Nginx generally still benchmarks ahead
Automatic certificate issuance needs outbound internet access, which complicates air-gapped deployments

Directus

Free permissive use of the self hosted product is limited to organisations under $5M annual revenue with fewer than 50 employees, so crossing either threshold turns a free dependency into a paid licence
The free Core tier is a hard limit of 3 seats, 25 collections and 5 flows
The Team plan is $499 a month billed annually, or $599 monthly, with extra seats at $50 each
Team caps collections at 50, expandable to 100, and flows at 20

Pricing, plan by plan

Caddy

Free

CaddyFree
- Full functionality
- Commercial use permitted
- Community support

Directus

Free

CommunityFree
- Self-hosted Directus
- Community support
Cloud$25/monthly
- Managed cloud
- Automatic updates
- Backups

Which should you pick?

Choose Caddy if

You need automatic https.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker.
You also want caddyfile.

Caddy review

Choose Directus if

You need rest api.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
You also want graphql api.

Directus review

Questions people ask

Is Caddy or Directus better?: Neither clearly leads. Caddy starts at Free and Directus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Caddy or Directus?: Caddy starts at Free and Directus at Free.
Does Caddy or Directus run on more platforms?: Caddy runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker. Directus runs on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
Can I use Caddy for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Caddy best used for?: Caddy is most often used for sites and services where expired certificates have caused outages before, small deployments where nginx configuration is more effort than the problem warrants, reverse proxying internal services with tls without a certificate workflow. Of those, sites and services where expired certificates have caused outages before and small deployments where nginx configuration is more effort than the problem warrants are not what Directus is typically brought in for.
What can Caddy do that Directus cannot?: Caddy covers Automatic HTTPS, Caddyfile, Reverse proxy, Single binary. Directus covers REST API, GraphQL API, Database management, PostgreSQL.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Caddy: Is Caddy free?

Yes, open source under the Apache 2.0 licence, free for commercial use.

Directus: What is Directus's pricing?

Directus Core is free and self-hosted. The Team tier costs $499/month (annual) or $599/month (rolling), including 10 user seats and cloud hosting at $99/month additional. Enterprise plans have custom pricing. Additional seats cost $50/month each.

Source

Caddy: What does automatic HTTPS mean?

Caddy obtains certificates from Let’s Encrypt or ZeroSSL on first request and renews them before expiry, with no cron job or configuration.

Directus: Can I use Directus for free?

Yes, Directus Core is completely free with 3 user seats, 25 Collections, 5 Flows, AI Assistant, and Advanced RBAC. Self-hosting is available at no cost.

Source

Caddy: Caddy or Nginx?

Caddy is dramatically simpler to configure and removes certificate management. Nginx has the larger ecosystem and better peak throughput.

Directus: How many user seats does each Directus tier include?

Core includes 3 user seats, Team includes 10 SSO seats, and Enterprise includes custom SSO seat counts. Additional Team seats cost $50/seat per month.

Source

Directus: What happens to my monthly Directus plan if I switch?

Monthly plans are grandfathered for six months after switching, and annual plans are honored until renewal. Self-hosted licenses are handled case-by-case at renewal.

Source

Directus: Is there a free trial for Directus?

No trial period is mentioned. Users can start with the free Core tier immediately without a credit card.

Source

Caddy vs Directus

Caddy

Directus

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Caddy

Only in Directus

What people use each for

Caddy

Directus

Where each one falls short

Caddy

Directus

Pricing, plan by plan

Caddy

Directus

Which should you pick?

Choose Caddy if

Choose Directus if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Caddy

More on Directus

Keep looking

Other head to heads