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Appwrite: Open-source Backend as a Service with REST API and SDKs
Directus
Open-source data platform providing REST and GraphQL APIs
As of 30 August 2026, Directus is free to use. Directus is an open-source data platform that instantly provides REST and GraphQL APIs for any database. Softwr lists it under APIs. Directus is launched in 2014, available on API, Web, Self-hosted.
Overview
What Directus does
Directus is an open-source data platform that instantly provides REST and GraphQL APIs for any database. It combines database management, content management, and API generation in one platform.
What people use it 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
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Directus
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- DirectusvsHasura
Hasura: GraphQL engine that instantly creates production-ready GraphQL API from databases
- DirectusvsPocketBase
PocketBase: Open-source backend with REST API, real-time subscriptions and Admin UI
- DirectusvsSanity
Sanity: Headless CMS with real-time collaborative editing and structured content APIs
Pricing
What Directus costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Community
Free
- Self-hosted Directus
- Community support
Cloud
$25 /mo
- Managed cloud
- Automatic updates
- Backups
Capabilities
Features
REST API
GraphQL API
Database management
PostgreSQL
Integration with PostgreSQL
MySQL
Integration with MySQL
SQLite
Integration with SQLite
Webhooks
Integration with Webhooks
Node.js support
Available on Node.js
Cloud support
Available on Cloud
Self-hosted support
Available on Self-hosted
Docker support
Available on Docker
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
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.
SourceCan 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.
SourceHow 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.
SourceWhat 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.
SourceIs there a free trial for Directus?
No trial period is mentioned. Users can start with the free Core tier immediately without a credit card.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Directus
- Company
- Directus
- Based in
- New York, USA
Keep looking
Where to go from Directus
- Directus alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Directus pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Directus badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All APIs softwareThe full category
- Best APIs softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best APIs software for
Compare Directus with
- Appwrite
- Hasura
- PocketBase
- Sanity
- Parse Server
- Strapi
- Gravitee
- Payload CMS
- KeystoneJS
- Tyk
- Asyncapi
- Hoppscotch
- Pusher
- Salt Edge
- Skyflow
- Yodlee
- Backbase
- Enfuce
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Directus, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Directus
Directus alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Directus pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Directus
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Directus badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
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