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.
What it does well
- +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
Where it falls short
- −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
Directus as an alternative to
Where Directus shows up in our comparisons, and how it ranked.
Directus head-to-head
Straight comparisons against the tools people weigh it against.