head to head · open source
Strapi vs Directus
Strapi has 73,425 GitHub stars, 10,050 forks, 558 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Directus has 38,799 stars, 4,991 forks, 402 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Strapi leads on adoption by 89% (73,425 vs 38,799 stars). Strapi is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Directus is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. Strapi has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, Directus 13%. Strapi was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 5 topic tags (api, cms, graphql, headless-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
| Strapi | Directus | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 73K | ★ 39K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 10K | ⑂ 5.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Strapi if
- You weight community size — 73K 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 Directus if
- You want the Directus feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Directus fits your workflow better
About Strapi
Open source headless CMS, self hosted or Cloud you're in control. The leading open source headless CMS, 100% JavaScript/TypeScript, flexible and fully customizable. Docs · Strapi Cloud · Roadmap · Discord · Discussions Strapi is an open source, self hosted headless CMS that lets developers build content APIs fast while giving content creators a friendly editing interface. Define your content models and Strapi generates a full API, ready to consume from any frontend, mobile app, or IoT device. Design content structures visually with the Content Type Builder , no code required Auto generated REST & GraphQL APIs…
read the full Strapi overview →
About Directus
The Collaborative Backend for Builders & AI Connect any SQL database and get instant REST and GraphQL APIs, a visual management Studio, and a native MCP server for AI agents. 45M+ downloads · 500K+ projects deployed [!NOTE] Free for most organizations. Under $5M annual revenue and 50 employees? Directus is completely free. Apply for an Open Innovation Grant license and get a key in minutes. Learn more about our license. 🐇 Introduction Directus wraps any SQL database with a REST and GraphQL API layer and a visual Studio. Engineers control schema and access. Non technical teammates and AI agents work directly…
read the full Directus overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Strapi or Directus more popular?
Strapi has 73,425 GitHub stars and Directus has 38,799. Strapi has the larger community by that measure.
Are Strapi and Directus free?
Neither Strapi nor Directus 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 Strapi and Directus?
Strapi is written in TypeScript and Directus 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, Strapi or Directus?
Choose Strapi if you want the larger community (73,425 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Directus if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.