Strapi vs Directus: Complete Comparison Guide
Compare Strapi and Directus on architecture, database support, API options, and community. Discover which open-source headless CMS best fits your project.
Strapi
Strapi is the most popular open-source headless CMS with over 60,000 GitHub stars. Built on Node.js, Strapi offers an intuitive admin panel, an extensive plugin system, and support for both REST and GraphQL APIs. The content-type builder makes it easy to define schemas via the UI, while the plugin ecosystem extends functionality with SEO, i18n, and media management.
Directus
Directus is an open-source data platform that wraps any SQL database with an instant REST and GraphQL API. Unlike traditional CMS systems, Directus is database-first: it works with your existing database schema without overwriting it. With real-time WebSocket support, flows for automation, and a modern Vue.js-based admin app, Directus offers a unique approach to content and data management.
Comparison table
| Feature | Strapi | Directus |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Content-first — Strapi fully manages the database schema | Database-first — Directus wraps around any existing SQL database |
| Database support | SQLite, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MS SQL, SQLite, Oracle, CockroachDB |
| API output | REST and GraphQL (via plugin) — configurable per content type | REST and GraphQL native — automatically generated for every collection |
| Plugin system | Extensive plugin ecosystem with marketplace and community plugins | Extensions via hooks, endpoints, and modules — smaller ecosystem |
| Real-time | No native real-time — requires custom implementation | Native WebSocket support for real-time data updates |
| Community | 60K+ GitHub stars — largest open-source CMS community | 28K+ GitHub stars — growing but smaller community |
Verdict
Strapi and Directus are both excellent open-source headless CMS platforms with fundamentally different approaches. Strapi is content-first and manages the database schema, resulting in simpler setup and a larger ecosystem. Directus is database-first and can wrap existing databases, making it ideal for organizations that already have a database schema. Strapi has the larger community and more plugins; Directus offers broader database support and native real-time features.
Our recommendation
At MG Software, we choose between Strapi and Directus based on the specific project. We recommend Strapi for greenfield projects where the CMS is the primary data source — the admin panel experience and plugin ecosystem are superior. We recommend Directus when clients want to expose existing databases via an API or when real-time functionality is essential. For projects preferring a hosted solution, we also point to Sanity or Payload as alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
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