# Strapi vs Directus

[Compare](https://nextlyhq.com/compare.md) / Strapi vs Directus

Facts about Strapi and Directus, side by side. Each line comes from the tool's own pages, repository or npm, with its source and the day it was checked.

[Facts checked on 24 Oct 2026](https://nextlyhq.com/compare/strapi-vs-directus#side-by-side) · [13 sources](https://nextlyhq.com/compare/strapi-vs-directus#sources)

Written by the Nextly team. Nextly is not in this comparison; it has a section of its own at the end.

On this page:

1. Side by side
2. Sources
3. Method
4. A third option

## 01 · Side by side: Strapi and Directus, fact by fact

Facts checked on 24 Oct 2026

Each line comes from Strapi's or Directus's own pages, repository or npm. Where we have not checked something, we say so and link to their docs.

| Topic | Strapi | Directus |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Licence | “MIT Expat” outside the `ee/` directories, if you have no Strapi Cloud account. Code in `ee/` is licensed separately. [1] | Monospace Sustainable Core License 1.0 (`MSCL-1.0-GPL`) [8] |
| Written in | TypeScript [1] | TypeScript [8] |
| Databases | SQLite, MySQL, MariaDB and PostgreSQL [2] | The LTS versions of PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MS SQL Server, MariaDB, CockroachDB and OracleDB [10] |
| APIs | REST, and GraphQL through a plugin (`@strapi/plugin-graphql`), are documented [3] [4] | REST, GraphQL and a JavaScript SDK are documented [11] |
| Managed hosting | Strapi Cloud lists Starter, Pro and Business plans, each priced per project per month [5] | Directus Cloud, or self-hosting with Docker [12] |
| Self-hosted plans | A free Community plan, and paid Growth and Enterprise plans [6] | Not stated here. [directus.com/docs](https://directus.com/docs) |
| Open Innovation Grant | Not stated here. [docs.strapi.io](https://docs.strapi.io) | [“Organizations under $5M in annual revenue and 50 employees can use Directus for free under the Open Innovation Grant.”](https://github.com/directus/directus/blob/main/directus/readme.md) [9] |
| Existing databases | Not stated here. [docs.strapi.io](https://docs.strapi.io) | REST endpoints and a GraphQL schema are generated from the connected database (“database mirroring”) [11] |
| Current release | 5.59.0 on npm `latest` [7] | 12.5.1 on npm `latest` [13] |

## 02 · Sources: Where each line comes from

All checked 24 Oct 2026

### Strapi

1. [github.com/strapi/strapi (licence, language)](https://github.com/strapi/strapi)
2. [docs.strapi.io/cms/configurations/database](https://docs.strapi.io/cms/configurations/database)
3. [docs.strapi.io/cms/api/rest](https://docs.strapi.io/cms/api/rest)
4. [docs.strapi.io/cms/plugins/graphql](https://docs.strapi.io/cms/plugins/graphql)
5. [strapi.io/pricing-cloud](https://strapi.io/pricing-cloud)
6. [strapi.io/pricing-cms](https://strapi.io/pricing-cms)
7. [npmjs.com/package/@strapi/strapi (dist-tags)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@strapi/strapi)

### Directus

8. [github.com/directus/directus (licence, language)](https://github.com/directus/directus)
9. [github.com/directus/directus (README)](https://github.com/directus/directus/blob/main/directus/readme.md)
10. [directus.com/docs/self-hosting/requirements](https://directus.com/docs/self-hosting/requirements)
11. [directus.com/docs/api](https://directus.com/docs/api)
12. [directus.com/docs/getting-started/overview](https://directus.com/docs/getting-started/overview)
13. [npmjs.com/package/directus (dist-tags)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/directus)

## 03 · Method: How this page is written

- **Facts:** Facts from their own pages or repository, each with its source and the day we checked.
- **No scores:** No ticks, crosses or verdicts about other products.
- **Gaps:** Where we have not checked something, we say so and link to their docs.

## 04 · A third option: Nextly

We make Nextly. It is not part of the comparison above.

Separate from the comparison

- **What it is:** Nextly is an open-source content platform for Next.js.
- **Stack:** TypeScript · Self-hosted · MIT · PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite · 0.0.2-alpha.71
- **Hosting:** Self-hosted. MIT today, and no decision yet about paid offerings.
- **Status:** Nextly is in alpha. APIs may change before 1.0. Pin exact versions in production.

- [Nextly vs Strapi](https://nextlyhq.com/compare/strapi.md): Read the comparison · checked 24 Oct 2026
- [Nextly vs Directus](https://nextlyhq.com/compare/directus.md): Read the comparison · checked 24 Oct 2026