head to head · open source
Directus vs WordPress
Directus has 37,952 GitHub stars, 4,946 forks, 402 open issues and last shipped yesterday. WordPress has 21,428 stars, 12,979 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped today. Directus leads on adoption by 77% (37,952 vs 21,428 stars). Directus is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; WordPress is written in PHP under a custom or non-standard licence. Directus has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, WordPress 61%. WordPress 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 | WordPress | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 21K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.9K | ⑂ 13K |
| 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 WordPress if
- You want the WordPress feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and WordPress 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 WordPress
WordPress is a PHP based website builder and personal publishing platform. It lives in the open source web publishing ecosystem and is distributed as a self hosted package installed on a web server. The project provides an administrative interface for creating, customizing, and managing a website, and it relies on a MySQL or MariaDB database for site content and configuration.
read the full WordPress overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Directus or WordPress more popular?
Directus has 37,952 GitHub stars and WordPress has 21,428. Directus has the larger community by that measure.
Are Directus and WordPress free?
Neither Directus nor WordPress 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 WordPress?
Directus is written in TypeScript and WordPress in PHP. 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 WordPress?
Choose Directus if you want the larger community (37,952 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose WordPress if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.