Strapi vs Directus

Strapi9.4Visit Directus8.7Visit

Higher score Strapi #1 in Headless CMS 9.4/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 3 of 4 features Visit Strapi

vs

Directus #7 in Headless CMS 8.7/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Directus

• Strapi fits best

  Open-source teams needing deployment flexibility

• Directus fits best

  Data-centric teams needing APIs and extensibility

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Side by side

Feature	Strapi 9.4/10 Visit ↗	Directus 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	8.7
Ranking	#1 in Headless CMS	#7 in Headless CMS
Best for	Open-source teams needing deployment flexibility	Data-centric teams needing APIs and extensibility
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	$45/mo (best)	$499/mo
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	30 days	14 days
Free trial length	30 days · no card needed	14 days
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted, Browser extension
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Compliance	SOC 2, GDPR	SOC 2, SSO/SAML, 2FA
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Strapi 3/4 · Directus 4/4
Content localization	✓	✓
Webhooks	✓	✓
Content preview	✓	✓
Asset transformations	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
API types	Both	Both
Role permissions	Custom	Custom
Our review
Pros	Self-hosted or managed cloud deployment REST and GraphQL APIs with localization Granular permissions, previews, and workflows	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	Advanced governance features require Enterprise Cloud hosting and CMS plans are priced separately API and storage limits vary by hosting tier	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	Strapi is an open-source headless CMS and content framework for developers, content teams, agencies, and enterprises. It provides visual content modeling with components and dynamic zones, an administrative interface, automatically… 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 →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Strapi — where it wins

  • Self-hosted or managed cloud deployment
  • REST and GraphQL APIs with localization
  • Granular permissions, previews, and workflows

  Where it doesn't

  • Advanced governance features require Enterprise
  • Cloud hosting and CMS plans are priced separately
  • API and storage limits vary by hosting tier

• 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

• Strapi9.4/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

  A flexible CMS for teams that want open-source control and deployment choice.

  Visit StrapiFull 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 →