# Directus vs Sanity

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Directus

| Attribute | Directus | Sanity |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 73.9 (47% (low)) | 50.1 (71% (medium)) |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":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 cloud-hosted content management system that uses code-based content modeling, offers both REST and GraphQL query capabilities, and provides built-in automation for content workflows and publishing operations. |
| 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":false,"git_workflow":true,"headless_api":true,"localization":true,"self_hostable":false,"visual_builder":true,"managed_hosting":true,"content_workflow":true,"plugin_ecosystem":"Integrations directory with official framework toolkits and community plugins","structured_content":true}` |
| integrations.count | - | 8 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"Vercel"},{"name":"Next.js"},{"name":"Astro"},{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"PostHog"},{"name":"Claude"},{"name":"Replicate"}]` |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"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":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Growth","features":["50 user seats","private datasets","AI capabilities","optional add-ons"],"minSeats":50,"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","features":["custom roles","SAML SSO","advanced permissions","custom usage quotas","dedicated support with SLA","content resources"],"contactSales":true}],"summary":"Free tier. Growth and Enterprise plans with custom pricing.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.sanity.io/answers/request-for-demo-and-pricing-for-headless-cms--response-received-after-initial-contact-failure","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T15:24:35.081Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | low |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.soc2 | yes | yes |

## Capabilities (CMS Software)

| Capability | Directus | Sanity |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **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 | Integrations directory with official framework toolkits and community plugins |
| **Scale** |  |  |
| Multi-site / multi-tenant | - | - |
| **Workflow** |  |  |
| Git-based / code-first workflow | - | ✓ |
| **Pricing** |  |  |
| Free / open tier | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:26:31.920Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*