Directus vs Markdown files in Git
Both are alternatives to Contentful. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Markdown files in Git vs Directus — same comparison, one verdict.
Directus
TOP PICKAn instant API and admin app over any SQL database you already have.
Directus takes a different route: point it at a SQL database — new or existing, with your own schema — and it generates a REST and GraphQL API plus an admin interface on top, without owning or altering your data model. That matters most for the very common case where content already lives in a database that other systems also use. Around 37k stars. The licence needs stating precisely: Directus uses the Business Source License 1.1, which converts to GPL after a delay and is free below a revenue threshold — source-available rather than open source, despite frequent mislabelling.
Markdown files in Git
For developer-owned content, the CMS may be the thing to remove.
Worth asking before choosing any of the above: does non-technical staff actually edit this content? A great many headless CMS deployments serve documentation and marketing pages maintained entirely by developers — content that could be Markdown files in the repository, reviewed in pull requests, deployed by CI, with no server, no API call metering and no vendor. Every modern framework reads Markdown natively. This is not a product; it is a scope check, and it is the right answer more often than the category admits.
Side by side
| Directus | Markdown files in Git | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty Score | 72 | 99 |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first | Yes | Yes |
| License | Business Source License 1.1 (source-available; free under a revenue threshold, converts to GPL in time) | N/A — plain files in your own repository |
| Pricing | Free to self-host under the BSL revenue threshold. Directus Cloud and commercial licences are paid. | Free. There is nothing to host. |
Directus is Macrostack's recommended Contentful alternative, so it's our pick here.
Directus
Strengths
- +Works over an existing SQL database without changing your schema
- +Instant REST and GraphQL APIs plus a genuinely good admin interface
- +Your data stays in your own database, readable by anything else
- +No per-record or per-API-call metering
Trade-offs
- −Business Source License — not open source, and commonly mislabelled
- −A revenue threshold applies before a commercial licence is needed
- −Self-hosting means running a database and an application server
- −Fewer enterprise workflow features than Contentful
Markdown files in Git
Strengths
- +No CMS, no database, no API, no per-record billing — nothing to run
- +Content reviewed in pull requests alongside the code it describes
- +Complete version history for free
- +Every modern framework reads Markdown natively
Trade-offs
- −Non-technical editors cannot realistically contribute
- −No media library or scheduled publishing
- −Structured, relational content becomes awkward quickly
- −Wrong answer the moment a marketing team needs access
Related alternative guides
Facts verified 2026-08-05. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.