head to head · open source
Directus vs KeystoneJS
Directus has 37,947 GitHub stars, 4,944 forks, 402 open issues and last shipped yesterday. KeystoneJS has 9,974 stars, 1,263 forks, 138 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Directus leads on adoption by 280% (37,947 vs 9,974 stars). Directus is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; KeystoneJS is written in TypeScript under MIT. Directus has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, KeystoneJS 13%. Directus was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (cms, graphql), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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 | KeystoneJS | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 10.0K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.9K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| 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 KeystoneJS if
- You want the KeystoneJS feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and KeystoneJS 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 KeystoneJS
KeystoneJS is an open source Node.js CMS and application framework written in TypeScript and licensed under the MIT License. It lives in the Node.js, GraphQL, and React ecosystem, and its GitHub description calls it a headless CMS for Node.js. The project addresses the need to build a custom back end without writing all of the common content management plumbing by hand.
read the full KeystoneJS overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Directus or KeystoneJS more popular?
Directus has 37,947 GitHub stars and KeystoneJS has 9,974. Directus has the larger community by that measure.
Are Directus and KeystoneJS free?
Both are open source. Directus has no licence declared in this registry, and KeystoneJS is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Directus and KeystoneJS?
Directus is written in TypeScript and KeystoneJS in TypeScript. 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 KeystoneJS?
Choose Directus if you want the larger community (37,947 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose KeystoneJS if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.