# Directus vs KeystoneJS

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Directus

| Attribute | Directus | KeystoneJS |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 73.9 (47% (low)) | 58.9 (56% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 100 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 9,963 |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Directus connects to existing or new SQL databases and automatically generates production-ready APIs, along with a visual management studio for team collaboration and content governance. It supports both self-hosting and cloud deployment, with built-in AI integration and MCP server support. | 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. |
| features.capabilities | `{"cms_type":"headless","free_tier":true,"open_source":false,"headless_api":true,"localization":true,"self_hostable":true,"visual_builder":false,"managed_hosting":true,"content_workflow":true,"plugin_ecosystem":"Directus Marketplace with Sandbox SDK for safe third-party extensions","structured_content":true}` | `{"cms_type":"headless","free_tier":true,"open_source":true,"headless_api":true,"self_hostable":true,"visual_builder":false,"content_workflow":true,"plugin_ecosystem":"Custom field types and extensible architecture","structured_content":true}` |
| integrations.count | - | 4 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"Cloudinary"},{"name":"Prisma"},{"name":"Apollo Client"},{"name":"OpenTelemetry"}]` |
| language.primary | - | TypeScript |
| license.spdx | - | MIT |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Community Cloud","features":["Unlimited users","Unlimited API requests","Unlimited bandwidth","Unlimited content collections and items","Unlimited content locales"],"description":"Completely free tier for demos, proofs-of-concept, and hobby projects","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Standard Cloud","features":["Configurable node types for vertical scaling","Horizontal auto-scaling","Region selection","Automated backups","Unlimited users","Unlimited API requests","Unlimited bandwidth","Unlimited content collections and items","Unlimited content locales","Global CDN"],"components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"node-hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.0347,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Usage-based pricing for small to medium production projects with auto-scaling and region selection","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise Cloud","features":["Dedicated single-tenant servers","Custom configuration","Custom extensions","Additional features and support"],"description":"Customizable offering for large projects and organizations with dedicated infrastructure and support","contactSales":true}],"summary":"Community Cloud free. Standard Cloud: $0.0347/node/hour. Enterprise: contact sales.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://directus.com/resources/quick-guide-self-service-pay-as-you-go-pricing-for-directus-standard-cloud","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T22:23:41.362Z","startingPrice":{"amount":0.0347,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}}` | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Free and open source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://keystonejs.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-03T14:26:59.733Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.cadence_days | - | 14 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2026-08-20","date":"2026-08-20T01:10:41Z","type":"stable","version":"2026-08-20"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2026-08-18","date":"2026-08-18T05:59:51Z","type":"stable","version":"2026-08-18"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2026-08-11","date":"2026-08-11T07:07:11Z","type":"stable","version":"2026-08-11"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2026-08-10","date":"2026-08-10T00:47:02Z","type":"stable","version":"2026-08-10"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2026-08-03","date":"2026-08-03T04:54:56Z","type":"stable","version":"2026-08-03"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2026-07-31","date":"2026-07-31T07:00:27Z","type":"stable","version":"2026-07-31"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2026-07-28","date":"2026-07-28T00:02:33Z","type":"stable","version":"2026-07-28"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2026-07-21","date":"2026-07-21T04:06:31Z","type":"stable","version":"2026-07-21"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2026-07-01","date":"2026-07-01T02:01:17Z","type":"stable","version":"2026-07-01"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2026-03-19","date":"2026-03-20T00:04:21Z","type":"stable","version":"2026-03-19"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2025-05-06","date":"2025-05-05T23:28:38Z","type":"stable","version":"2025-05-06"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2025-05-05","date":"2025-05-05T03:38:19Z","type":"stable","version":"2025-05-05"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2025-02-24","date":"2025-02-24T02:39:57Z","type":"stable","version":"2025-02-24"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2024-11-07","date":"2024-11-07T03:43:43Z","type":"stable","version":"2024-11-07"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2024-08-28","date":"2024-08-28T11:48:04Z","type":"stable","version":"2024-08-28"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2024-08-09","date":"2024-08-09T02:23:08Z","type":"stable","version":"2024-08-09"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2024-04-30","date":"2024-04-30T06:08:38Z","type":"stable","version":"2024-04-30"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2024-04-16","date":"2024-04-16T01:47:15Z","type":"stable","version":"2024-04-16"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2024-04-02","date":"2024-04-02T01:56:33Z","type":"stable","version":"2024-04-02"},{"url":"https://github.com/keystonejs/keystone/releases/tag/2024-02-07","date":"2024-02-07T03:09:11Z","type":"stable","version":"2024-02-07"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | - | 5.3 |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |

## Capabilities (CMS Software)

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

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T14:39:50.639Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*