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No-Code · head to head

Directual vs Fillout

Directual logo

Directual

No-Code

No-code backend with a visual workflow engine, used behind other tools rather than instead of them

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Fillout logo

Fillout

Surveys

Form builder that reads and writes records in Airtable, Notion, HubSpot and Salesforce, with unlimited seats on every plan including the free one

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Directual the front-end builder is basic, so any project needing a designed interface means learning and paying for a second tool, and time to launch is closer to a two-system build than a one-tool build.; Fillout the Business plan is marketed with unlimited responses but the fair use policy names thresholds of 30,000 submissions a month, 250,000 in total, 500 forms per account and 50 GB of uploads a month, above which the vendor may limit or suspend features, so unlimited means unmetered rather than uncapped.
  • They diverge on capability: Directual covers Visual database designer, Fillout covers Unlimited seats and forms.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Directual and Fillout actually diverge.

Attributes where Directual and Fillout differ
AttributeDirectualFillout
Pricing modelquotePer month by response count
PlatformsWebWeb, API
CategoryNo-CodeSurveys

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 Directual

  • Visual database designer
  • Scenario builder
  • Generated API endpoints
  • Event-driven triggers
  • Role and permission model
  • Scheduled jobs
  • Basic web page builder
  • Self-hosted deployment

Only in Fillout

  • Unlimited seats and forms
  • Database read and write
  • Soft response limits
  • Conditional logic and calculations
  • EU hosting
  • REST API and webhooks

What people use each for

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

Directual

  • Providing the backend for a Webflow or FlutterFlow front end that needs real data, authentication and logicnot Fillout
  • Replacing an Airtable base that has outgrown its row limits without hiring a backend developernot Fillout
  • Event-driven workflows such as order processing or scheduled billing runs that must run without a person triggering themnot Fillout
  • Organisations with a data residency requirement that rules out most no-code platforms, using the self-hosted tiernot Fillout

Fillout

  • A team already running on Airtable or Notion that wants forms which update existing records rather than appending new rowsnot Directual
  • An organisation with many occasional form builders, where per-seat pricing elsewhere would cost more than the forms are worthnot Directual
  • Replacing a survey tool, a scheduling tool and a payment link with one form that does all threenot Directual
  • Public forms that must keep collecting through an unexpected traffic spike rather than shutting off at a quotanot Directual

Where each one falls short

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

Directual

  • The front-end builder is basic, so any project needing a designed interface means learning and paying for a second tool, and time to launch is closer to a two-system build than a one-tool build.
  • Visual scenarios become unreadable once the logic is non-trivial; a workflow that would be forty lines of code sprawls across a canvas, and reviewing what a colleague built is slow.
  • Debugging asynchronous, event-triggered scenarios is harder than debugging code, because failures surface as records left in an unexpected state rather than as a stack trace at the point of failure.
  • Self-hosting is confined to the top commercial tier, so the ownership advantage is available only to buyers already spending at the high end.
  • The pool of agencies and freelancers who know Directual is small next to Bubble or Airtable, so handing a finished system to someone else to maintain is harder and more expensive.

Fillout

  • The Business plan is marketed with unlimited responses but the fair use policy names thresholds of 30,000 submissions a month, 250,000 in total, 500 forms per account and 50 GB of uploads a month, above which the vendor may limit or suspend features, so unlimited means unmetered rather than uncapped.
  • EU data residency begins on the Team plan at 250 USD per month, more than three times the Business price, and is not applied automatically; you must upgrade and then raise a support request to be moved.
  • The Team plan is hidden behind a secondary tab that does not render without interaction, so buyers reading the pricing page see Business at 75 USD as the top self-serve tier and only discover the 250 USD step when they ask for single sign-on or EU hosting.
  • The enterprise marketing page lists hosting in the United States, EU, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, but the security documentation and subprocessor list name only the United States and the EU, so three of those five regions should be confirmed in writing before they are relied on.
  • The vendor is SOC 2 Type 2 but claims neither ISO 27001 nor HIPAA anywhere in its documentation, and it is angel-funded with no disclosed institutional round while the parent company now trades as Zite and ships a separate AI application builder.

Pricing, plan by plan

Directual

Free
  • Directual$undefined/month
    • Free tier with capped records and API calls
    • Paid tiers priced by database rows, API calls and scenario runs
    • Self-hosted deployment on the top tier only

Fillout

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1,000 responses per month
    • Unlimited forms and unlimited seats
    • 20 MB per file upload
  • Starter$15/month
    • 180 USD per year billed annually, a stated 20 percent saving on monthly billing
    • 2,000 responses per month
    • Unlimited forms and seats
  • Pro$40/month
    • 480 USD per year billed annually
    • 5,000 responses per month
    • Branding fully removed at this tier
  • Business$75/month
    • 900 USD per year billed annually
    • Marketed as unlimited responses, subject to a fair use threshold near 30,000 per month
    • 1 GB per file upload

Which should you pick?

Choose Directual if

  • You need visual database designer.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want scenario builder.
Directual review

Choose Fillout if

  • You need unlimited seats and forms.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want database read and write.
Fillout review

Questions people ask

Is Directual or Fillout better?
Neither clearly leads. Directual starts at Free and Fillout at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Directual or Fillout?
Directual starts at Free and Fillout at Free.
Does Directual or Fillout run on more platforms?
Directual runs on Web. Fillout runs on Web, API.
Can I use Directual for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Directual best used for?
Directual is most often used for providing the backend for a webflow or flutterflow front end that needs real data, authentication and logic, replacing an airtable base that has outgrown its row limits without hiring a backend developer, event-driven workflows such as order processing or scheduled billing runs that must run without a person triggering them, organisations with a data residency requirement that rules out most no-code platforms, using the self-hosted tier. Of those, providing the backend for a webflow or flutterflow front end that needs real data, authentication and logic and replacing an airtable base that has outgrown its row limits without hiring a backend developer are not what Fillout is typically brought in for.
What can Directual do that Fillout cannot?
Directual covers Visual database designer, Scenario builder, Generated API endpoints, Event-driven triggers. Fillout covers Unlimited seats and forms, Database read and write, Soft response limits, Conditional logic and calculations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Directual: Is Directual a replacement for Bubble?

Not directly. Bubble builds the whole application; Directual builds the backend and expects you to bring a front end such as Webflow or FlutterFlow.

Fillout: Are seats really unlimited?

Yes. The vendor states there are no per-seat charges on any plan, including Free, and forms are unlimited too. Responses per month is the only meter below the Business tier.

Directual: Can I host it myself?

Yes, on the top commercial tier. That is unusual in no-code and it is the main reason regulated buyers look at it at all.

Fillout: What happens when I exceed my response quota?

Nothing breaks. Forms keep collecting, and you can upgrade, buy bulk submissions or wait for the monthly reset.

Directual: How does it cope with large data volumes?

It is built on a real database with indexing rather than a spreadsheet abstraction, so record counts that break Airtable-class tools are within its normal range.

Fillout: Can I host respondent data in the EU?

Only from the Team plan at 250 USD per month, and only after contacting support to switch. Note that email and payment subprocessors remain in the United States regardless.

Directual: What happens to my logic if I leave?

The data exports and the API is documented, but scenarios are platform-specific and have to be reimplemented, unless you are already on the self-hosted tier.

Fillout: Is the Business plan really unlimited responses?

It is unmetered, not uncapped. The fair use policy names roughly 30,000 submissions a month as the point at which the vendor may intervene, so treat that as the practical ceiling.

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