Directus vs Strapi
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories
— licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one
replaces.
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Feature Directus Strapi Category Self-Hosting Platforms (PaaS) Developer Tools & Git License BSL-1.1 MIT Language TypeScript TypeScript Setup difficulty Medium Medium Min. RAM 1,024 MB 1,024 MB Deployment docker, kubernetes, binary docker, kubernetes, binary GitHub stars ★ 37,238 ★ 72,821 First released 2015 2015 Replaces Contentful, Firebase Contentful
Why pick each one
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 Directus details Choose Strapi if… Released under the MIT license First-class Docker support for quick deployment Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available Mature project with 72.8k GitHub stars Strapi details
Frequently asked questions Is Directus or Strapi better? Neither is universally better. Strapi has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Directus and Strapi free and open-source? Yes. Directus is licensed under BSL-1.1 and Strapi under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Directus and Strapi with Docker? Directus: yes. Strapi: yes.