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Head-to-head · Headless CMS

Prismic vs Directus

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 5 checks side by side
Higher score Prismic #3 in Headless CMS 9.1/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Prismic
Directus #7 in Headless CMS 8.7/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Directus

Prismic leads on 0 checks, Directus on 0, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 5 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scorePrismic · 9.1/10
  • Free planboth
  • Free trialboth

Prismic scores higher on our rubric for headless cms: 9.1 against 8.7 out of 10; our editors rank them #3 and #7.

Prismic is the better fit for teams wanting strong value and polished authoring. Directus is the better fit for data-centric teams needing APIs and extensibility.

  • Prismic fits best

    Teams wanting strong value and polished authoring

  • Directus fits best

    Data-centric teams needing APIs and extensibility

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Prismic 9.1/10 Visit ↗ Directus 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.1 8.7
Ranking #3 in Headless CMS #7 in Headless CMS
Best for Teams wanting strong value and polished authoring Data-centric teams needing APIs and extensibility
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free plan + paid
Starting price $10/unit/mo $499/mo
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial 30 days 14 days
Free trial length 30 days 14 days
Deployment Cloud Cloud, Self-hosted, Browser extension
Platforms Web Web
Support Community, Docs Community, Docs
Compliance GDPR, 2FA SOC 2, SSO/SAML, 2FA
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Prismic 4/4 · Directus 4/4
Content localization ✓ ✓
Webhooks ✓ ✓
Content preview ✓ ✓
Asset transformations ✓ ✓
Specs
API types Both Both
Role permissions Custom Custom
Our review
Pros
  • Reusable slices and visual page building support flexible page creation.
  • REST and GraphQL APIs fit modern web development workflows.
  • Free and low-cost annual tiers include localization and generous content limits.
  • Generated REST and GraphQL APIs from SQL data models
  • Granular permissions, localization, versioning, and automation
  • Self-hosting, cloud hosting, and custom extensions are supported
Cons
  • The Free plan is limited to 1 user and 2 locales.
  • Advanced controls such as user roles begin on the Medium plan.
  • Enterprise features such as SSO and uptime SLAs require a custom plan.
  • Team costs $499/month with annual billing or $599/month monthly
  • SSO is available on Team and Enterprise plans, not Core
  • Offline mode and AI translations are limited to Enterprise
Our verdict

Prismic is a cloud-based headless CMS for developers, marketers, and website teams that need structured content delivered separately from presentation. Its reusable slices, visual page building, localization, previews, scheduling,…

Read the review →

Directus is a backend and headless CMS for teams managing structured data across web and API projects. It connects to SQL databases and combines content modeling, asset management, a web-based Data Studio, generated REST and GraphQL APIs,…

Read the review →
  1. PrismicHeadless CMS 9.1Free plan · 30-day trial
  2. DirectusHeadless CMS 8.7Free plan · 14-day trial

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Prismic — where it wins

    • Reusable slices and visual page building support flexible page creation.
    • REST and GraphQL APIs fit modern web development workflows.
    • Free and low-cost annual tiers include localization and generous content limits.

    Where it doesn't

    • The Free plan is limited to 1 user and 2 locales.
    • Advanced controls such as user roles begin on the Medium plan.
    • Enterprise features such as SSO and uptime SLAs require a custom plan.

  • Directus — where it wins

    • Generated REST and GraphQL APIs from SQL data models
    • Granular permissions, localization, versioning, and automation
    • Self-hosting, cloud hosting, and custom extensions are supported

    Where it doesn't

    • Team costs $499/month with annual billing or $599/month monthly
    • SSO is available on Team and Enterprise plans, not Core
    • Offline mode and AI translations are limited to Enterprise
  • Prismic9.1/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

    Strong value for teams that want polished authoring and flexible APIs.

    Visit PrismicFull verdict →
  • Directus8.7/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

    A flexible, API-first CMS for teams that need SQL data modeling and extensibility.

    Visit DirectusFull verdict →

More comparisons

All headless CMS comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update