head to head · open source
Directus vs Alokai
Directus has 37,947 GitHub stars, 4,944 forks, 402 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Alokai has 10,942 stars, 2,064 forks, 52 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. Directus leads on adoption by 247% (37,947 vs 10,942 stars). Directus is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Alokai is written in various languages under a licence not recorded in this registry. Directus has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, Alokai 19%. Directus was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Directus | Alokai | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 11K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | — |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-06-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.9K | ⑂ 2.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Directus if
- You weight community size — 38K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Alokai if
- You want the Alokai feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You evaluated both and Alokai fits your workflow better
About Directus
Directus is an open source data platform that wraps any SQL database with a REST and GraphQL API layer and a visual management interface. It lives in the developer tools and frameworks ecosystem, specifically targeting teams needing a flexible backend for content management, admin panels, or custom applications without writing boilerplate code.
read the full Directus overview →
About Alokai
Alokai is an open source ecosystem of developer tools and a Frontend as a Service solution for composable commerce. It lives in the headless commerce ecosystem, where ecommerce backends expose APIs and separate frontend applications deliver storefronts.
read the full Alokai overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Directus or Alokai more popular?
Directus has 37,947 GitHub stars and Alokai has 10,942. Directus has the larger community by that measure.
Are Directus and Alokai free?
Neither Directus nor Alokai declares a licence in this registry, so check each project's own repository before relying on either for a commercial use. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Directus and Alokai?
Directus is written in TypeScript and Alokai in various languages. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Directus or Alokai?
Choose Directus if you want the larger community (37,947 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Alokai if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.