Software · head to head
Directus vs Swagger
Directus
Software
Open-source data platform providing REST and GraphQL APIs
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
S
Swagger
Software
API design and documentation platform for building, testing, and managing APIs
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: 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; Swagger swaggerHub, the commercial layer over the free open source Swagger tools, is sold in Free, Team and Enterprise tiers with the Enterprise tier requiring a sales contact and no public price, per the vendor pricing page
- They diverge on capability: Directus covers REST API, Swagger covers API Specification.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Directus and Swagger actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Directus
- REST API
- GraphQL API
- Database management
- PostgreSQL
- MySQL
- SQLite
- Webhooks
- Node.js support
Only in Swagger
- API Specification
- Interactive Documentation
- Code Generation
- GitHub
- GitLab
- Azure DevOps
- Jira
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Directus
- Wrapping an existing SQL database in a REST and GraphQL API with an admin interfacenot Swagger
- Running a self hosted headless CMS over a schema you already ownnot Swagger
Swagger
- API Developmentnot Directus
- API Gatewaynot Directus
- API Testingnot Directus
- API Documentationnot Directus
- Microservicesnot Directus
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Swagger
- SwaggerHub, the commercial layer over the free open source Swagger tools, is sold in Free, Team and Enterprise tiers with the Enterprise tier requiring a sales contact and no public price, per the vendor pricing page
Pricing, plan by plan
Directus
Free- CommunityFree
- Self-hosted Directus
- Community support
- Cloud$25/monthly
- Managed cloud
- Automatic updates
- Backups
Swagger
Free- FreeFree
- OpenAPI specification
- Swagger UI
- API documentation
- Professional$20/monthly
- Advanced features
- Team collaboration
- API testing
- Enterprise$undefined/monthly
- Custom deployment
- Advanced security
- Dedicated support
Which should you pick?
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.
Choose Swagger if
- You need api specification.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, CLI, Desktop.
- You also want interactive documentation.
Questions people ask
- Is Directus or Swagger better?
- Neither clearly leads. Directus starts at Free and Swagger at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Directus or Swagger?
- Directus starts at Free and Swagger at Free.
- Does Directus or Swagger run on more platforms?
- Directus runs on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker. Swagger runs on Web, CLI, Desktop.
- Can I use Directus for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Directus best used for?
- Directus is most often used for wrapping an existing sql database in a rest and graphql api with an admin interface, running a self hosted headless cms over a schema you already own. Of those, wrapping an existing sql database in a rest and graphql api with an admin interface and running a self hosted headless cms over a schema you already own are not what Swagger is typically brought in for.
- What can Directus do that Swagger cannot?
- Directus covers REST API, GraphQL API, Database management, PostgreSQL. Swagger covers API Specification, Interactive Documentation, Code Generation, GitHub.