Bolt vs Directus
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Bolt
Lightweight and simple CMS built on Symfony
VS
Directus
Instant REST and GraphQL API for any SQL database
| Feature | Bolt | Directus |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Content Management Systems | Self-Hosting Platforms (PaaS) |
| License | MIT | BSL-1.1 |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source, docker | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 590 | ★ 37,238 |
| First released | 2012 | 2015 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Contentful | Contentful, Firebase |
Why pick each one
Choose Bolt if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Directus if…
- Released under the BSL-1.1 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 37.2k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Bolt or Directus better?
Neither is universally better. Directus has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Bolt and Directus free and open-source?
Yes. Bolt is licensed under MIT and Directus under BSL-1.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bolt and Directus with Docker?
Bolt: yes. Directus: yes.