head to head · open source
Strapi vs Directus
Strapi has 73,188 GitHub stars, 9,877 forks, 558 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Directus has 37,952 stars, 4,946 forks, 402 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Strapi leads on adoption by 93% (73,188 vs 37,952 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 13% as many forks as stars, Directus 13%. Directus 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 | ★ 38K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.9K | ⑂ 4.9K |
| 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
Strapi is an open source headless content management system built entirely in JavaScript and TypeScript. It provides a customizable admin dashboard and automatically generates REST and GraphQL APIs for any content structure defined through its visual Content Type Builder. Strapi lives in the JavaScript ecosystem and targets developers who need to deliver content to diverse frontends—including web, mobile, and IoT applications—without being locked into a specific presentation layer.
read the full Strapi overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Strapi or Directus more popular?
Strapi has 73,188 GitHub stars and Directus has 37,952. 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 (73,188 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Directus if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.