head to head · open source
Directus vs Rowy
Directus has 37,911 GitHub stars, 4,951 forks, 402 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Rowy has 6,841 stars, 557 forks, 80 open issues and last shipped 1.8 years ago. Directus leads on adoption by 454% (37,911 vs 6,841 stars). Directus is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Rowy is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. Directus has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, Rowy 8%. Directus was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (cms), 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 | Rowy | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 6.8K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2024-11-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.0K | ⑂ 557 |
| 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 Rowy if
- You want the Rowy feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Rowy 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 Rowy
Rowy is an open source low code backend platform that runs in the browser. It provides a spreadsheet like interface for managing data stored in Firestore, and it embeds a code editor for writing cloud functions in JavaScript or TypeScript. The project lives in the Firebase and Google Cloud Platform ecosystem, and it is written in TypeScript. It is commonly described as an Airtable style front end for a Firestore database, with automation built in.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Directus or Rowy more popular?
Directus has 37,911 GitHub stars and Rowy has 6,841. Directus has the larger community by that measure.
Are Directus and Rowy free?
Neither Directus nor Rowy 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 Rowy?
Directus is written in TypeScript and Rowy 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 Rowy?
Choose Directus if you want the larger community (37,911 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Rowy if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.