vioscaleAI
Comparison

Directus vs KeystoneJS

No clear leader: KeystoneJS (62.6) and Directus (59.9) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Directus full profile →KeystoneJS full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Directus60
KeystoneJS63
Score
vioscaleAI score
Directus60 / 100medium · 60%
KeystoneJS63 / 100medium · 61%
Pricing
Free tier
Directus✓
KeystoneJS✓
Model
Directusfreemium
KeystoneJSopen_source
Price level
Directushigh
KeystoneJSfree
Starting price
Directus$499
KeystoneJS–
Transparent
Directus✓
KeystoneJS✓
Integrations
Count
Directus4
KeystoneJS4
Security
Disclosure policy
Directus✓
KeystoneJS–
Gdpr
Directus✓
KeystoneJS–
Scorecard
Directus–
KeystoneJS5.2
Soc2
Directus✓
KeystoneJS–
Reliability
Status page
Directus✓
KeystoneJS–
Adoption
Github stars
Directus–
KeystoneJS9,974
Activity
Commits last 30d
Directus–
KeystoneJS100
Release
Cadence days
Directus–
KeystoneJS13
History
Directus–
KeystoneJS20 items
License
Spdx
Directus–
KeystoneJSMIT
Language
Primary
Directus–
KeystoneJSTypeScript
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
Directus6 items
KeystoneJS6 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for cms software. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Core
CMS type
DirectusHeadless / API-first
KeystoneJSHeadless / API-first
Licensing
Open-source
Directus✓
KeystoneJS✓
Deployment
Self-hostable
Directus✓
KeystoneJS✓
Managed / cloud hosting offered
Directus✓
KeystoneJS✓
Delivery
Headless API (REST/GraphQL)
Directus✓
KeystoneJS✓
Content
Structured content modelling
Directus✓
KeystoneJS✓
Localisation / i18n
Directus✓
KeystoneJS-
Content workflow / approvals
Directus✓
KeystoneJS✓
Editing
Visual / no-code page builder
Directus✓
KeystoneJS✓
Extensibility
Plugin / app ecosystem size
DirectusDirectus Marketplace with Sandbox SDK for safe third-party extensions
KeystoneJSCustom field types and extensible architecture
Scale
Multi-site / multi-tenant
Directus✓
KeystoneJS-
Workflow
Git-based / code-first workflow
Directus✓
KeystoneJS✓
Pricing
Free / open tier
Directus✓
KeystoneJS✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Directus

A system that connects to any SQL database and provides a collaborative web interface for content and data management, while automatically generating REST and GraphQL APIs for developers.

Independently observed

KeystoneJS

A headless CMS for developers that provides a GraphQL API and management UI for content and data. Developers define a schema and get a powerful backend without boilerplate or bootstrapping.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Directus

from $499/moHybridFree tier14-day trial

Free Core tier. Team from $499/mo annual commitment. Enterprise custom. Grant available for organizations under $5M revenue and 50 employees.

  • CoreFree
    • 3 user seats
    • 5 Flows
    • 25 collections
    • AI Assistant
    • Advanced RBAC
    • +1 more
  • Team$499/mo (annual) or $599/mo (monthly)
    • 10 SSO seats
    • 50 Collections (expandable to 100)
    • 20 Flows
    • Granular RBAC
    • Basic Support
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • Custom SSO seats
    • Custom Collections
    • Unlimited Flows
    • SSO (SAML / OIDC)
    • Custom LLM
    • +4 more
  • Open Innovation GrantFree
    • All features included
    • Free self-hosted
    • Cloud hosting $99/mo optional
as of verify ↗

KeystoneJS

Open sourceFree tier

Free and open source

as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Directus✓
KeystoneJS✓
CLI
Directus✓
KeystoneJS✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Directus✓
KeystoneJS✓
Self-hosted
Directus✓
KeystoneJS✓
Hybrid
Directus✓
KeystoneJS✗

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Directus

4 total
  • OpenAI
  • Anthropic
  • Google Gemini
  • Claude
Independently observed

KeystoneJS

4 total
  • Cloudinary
  • Prisma
  • Apollo Client
  • OpenTelemetry
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Directus or KeystoneJS: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.