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APIs · head to head

Directus vs Timeplus

Directus logo

Directus

APIs

Open-source data platform providing REST and GraphQL APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Timeplus logo

Timeplus

Databases

Streaming SQL engine built on ClickHouse internals, shipping as one small binary

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Timeplus proton, the free version, is single-node by design, so any requirement for high availability or horizontal scale forces the commercial licence; the open source edition is a trial in practical terms.
  • They diverge on capability: Directus covers REST API, Timeplus covers Streaming SQL.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Directus and Timeplus actually diverge.

Attributes where Directus and Timeplus differ
AttributeDirectusTimeplus
Pricing modelopen-sourcePer month for cloud, quoted for self-hosted
PlatformsNode.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, DockerLinux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes, Web
CategoryAPIsDatabases
Founded2014Unknown

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 Directus

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

Only in Timeplus

  • Streaming SQL
  • Unified streaming and historical
  • ClickHouse-based engine
  • Single binary deployment
  • External streams
  • Materialised views

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 Timeplus
  • Running a self hosted headless CMS over a schema you already ownnot Timeplus

Timeplus

  • Real-time alerting on Kafka topics where standing up a Flink cluster is more work than the use case justifiesnot Directus
  • Fraud or anomaly detection that must join a live event stream against recent history in one querynot Directus
  • Streaming ETL from Kafka or MySQL change data capture into ClickHouse without writing Javanot Directus
  • A small data team that needs continuous aggregation but has no platform engineers to operate JVM infrastructurenot 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

Timeplus

  • Proton, the free version, is single-node by design, so any requirement for high availability or horizontal scale forces the commercial licence; the open source edition is a trial in practical terms.
  • It is a young project against Apache Flink’s decade of production history, so the hiring pool, the connector library and the body of known failure modes are all much smaller.
  • Inheriting ClickHouse internals also inherits ClickHouse constraints: memory-hungry queries, awkward updates and a SQL dialect that is not portable to other engines.
  • Exactly-once semantics and state recovery guarantees are less battle-tested than Flink checkpointing, which matters if the pipeline moves money.
  • Cloud pricing is by provisioned instance size rather than usage, so a bursty workload pays for peak capacity around the clock or has to be resized by hand.

Pricing, plan by plan

Directus

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

Timeplus

Free
  • Timeplus ProtonFree
    • Apache 2.0 licence
    • Single node only
    • Full streaming SQL engine
  • Timeplus Cloud$199/month
    • One to thirty-two CPUs
    • 4 GB to 128 GB memory
    • From 250 GB SSD storage
  • Self-hosted or BYOC$undefined/year
    • Multi-node clustering
    • Kubernetes or bare metal
    • Customisable compute and storage

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.
Directus review

Choose Timeplus if

  • You need streaming sql.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
  • You also want unified streaming and historical.
Timeplus review

Questions people ask

Is Directus or Timeplus better?
Neither clearly leads. Directus starts at Free and Timeplus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Directus or Timeplus?
Directus starts at Free and Timeplus at Free.
Does Directus or Timeplus run on more platforms?
Directus runs on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker. Timeplus runs on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
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 Timeplus is typically brought in for.
What can Directus do that Timeplus cannot?
Directus covers REST API, GraphQL API, Database management, PostgreSQL. Timeplus covers Streaming SQL, Unified streaming and historical, ClickHouse-based engine, Single binary deployment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Timeplus: Is Timeplus open source?

The core engine, Timeplus Proton, is Apache 2.0. Timeplus Enterprise and Cloud are commercial.

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
Timeplus: What is the difference from Flink?

Timeplus is one binary with SQL as the only interface; Flink is a JVM cluster with a Java and SQL API and far more operational surface.

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
Timeplus: Can Proton run in production?

It can, but it is single-node only, so there is no high availability without the commercial edition.

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
Timeplus: How much is the cloud?

From 199 US dollars a month, sized by CPU and memory, with a fourteen day trial.

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
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