Testing · head to head
Cucumber vs Directus
Cucumber
Testing
Behaviour-driven development testing framework that returned to community ownership after nine years under SmartBear
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Directus
APIs
Open-source data platform providing REST and GraphQL APIs
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Cucumber gherkin's plain-language layer adds a real maintenance burden, keeping feature files, step definitions and implementation code synchronised across a large suite is a known source of drift and duplicated effort.; 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: Cucumber covers Gherkin syntax, Directus covers REST API.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Cucumber and Directus actually diverge.
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 Cucumber
- Gherkin syntax
- Step definition binding
- Multi-language support
- Living documentation
- Tagging and scenario outlines
- Reporting plugins
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.
Cucumber
- A team practising behaviour-driven development that wants shared, readable specifications between product owners and engineersnot Directus
- An organisation wanting living documentation that stays synchronised with actual test coverage rather than a separate specification documentnot Directus
- A QA team migrating acceptance tests from a proprietary BDD tool to an open source, community-governed alternativenot Directus
- A Java, JavaScript or Ruby project needing a mature BDD framework rather than building Gherkin-style parsing from scratchnot Directus
Directus
- Wrapping an existing SQL database in a REST and GraphQL API with an admin interfacenot Cucumber
- Running a self hosted headless CMS over a schema you already ownnot Cucumber
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Cucumber
- Gherkin's plain-language layer adds a real maintenance burden, keeping feature files, step definitions and implementation code synchronised across a large suite is a known source of drift and duplicated effort.
- Ownership has moved twice in under a decade, from independent to SmartBear-owned to independent community ownership again, which should temper confidence in any specific long-range roadmap claim.
- Non-technical stakeholders who are meant to read and write Gherkin scenarios often do not engage with them in practice, leaving the readability benefit unrealised while the maintenance cost remains.
- Step definition reuse across a large feature file set can become tangled, with ambiguous step matching causing hard-to-debug failures as a suite grows.
- As a community-owned project without a corporate backer's support infrastructure, enterprise buyers wanting a formal support contract have no vendor to buy one from, unlike some competing BDD tools still sold commercially.
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
Cucumber
Free- CucumberFree
- Full functionality across Cucumber-JVM, Cucumber-JS, Cucumber-Ruby and other implementations
- Community support via GitHub
- Returned to independent community ownership in December 2024 after nine years connected to SmartBear
Directus
Free- CommunityFree
- Self-hosted Directus
- Community support
- Cloud$25/monthly
- Managed cloud
- Automatic updates
- Backups
Which should you pick?
Choose Cucumber if
- You need gherkin syntax.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
- You also want step definition binding.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Cucumber or Directus better?
- Neither clearly leads. Cucumber 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, Cucumber or Directus?
- Cucumber starts at Free and Directus at Free.
- Does Cucumber or Directus run on more platforms?
- Cucumber runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. Directus runs on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
- Can I use Cucumber for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Cucumber best used for?
- Cucumber is most often used for a team practising behaviour-driven development that wants shared, readable specifications between product owners and engineers, an organisation wanting living documentation that stays synchronised with actual test coverage rather than a separate specification document, a qa team migrating acceptance tests from a proprietary bdd tool to an open source, community-governed alternative, a java, javascript or ruby project needing a mature bdd framework rather than building gherkin-style parsing from scratch. Of those, a team practising behaviour-driven development that wants shared, readable specifications between product owners and engineers and an organisation wanting living documentation that stays synchronised with actual test coverage rather than a separate specification document are not what Directus is typically brought in for.
- What can Cucumber do that Directus cannot?
- Cucumber covers Gherkin syntax, Step definition binding, Multi-language support, Living documentation. Directus covers REST API, GraphQL API, Database management, PostgreSQL.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Cucumber: Is Cucumber owned by SmartBear?
No, not currently. SmartBear acquired Cucumber Ltd in 2019 but the open source project returned to independent community ownership in December 2024.
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.
SourceCucumber: Is Cucumber free?
Yes, entirely open source with no licence fee across all its language implementations.
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.
SourceCucumber: Does Cucumber replace Selenium or Appium?
No, Cucumber provides the Gherkin specification layer and step definition binding; the actual browser or mobile automation still needs a driver such as Selenium or Appium underneath.
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.
SourceDirectus: 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.
SourceDirectus: 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.
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