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Directus

★ 32k

Instant headless CMS and app backend that layers REST/GraphQL APIs and a no-code studio over any SQL database

Directus does the job of Contentful and Airtable, self-hosted. It is BSL-1.1-licensed, and setting it up is an afternoon, not a weekend. Contentful bills $99-599+ for it. 32k stars on GitHub.

Open-source replacement for Contentful, Airtable.

Licence
BSL-1.1
Self-hosting
Medium
The paid one costs
$99-599+
GitHub stars
32k
view the code →official site →

Is it actually a replacement?

We have written a verdict on what it replaces — what you lose, and why people still pay:

How Directus runs

Where it runs

Directus runs on your server.

What setup takes

not verified by us yet — check the repo README.

Directus questions

Is Directus open source?

Yes — it is released under BSL-1.1.

Can Directus replace Contentful?

Our verdict on Contentful is YES. Strapi (70k stars), Ghost (49k stars), Payload (35k stars) are mature open-source replacements for Contentful — self-host with docker and stop paying $300/mo.

Can I self-host Directus?

Yes — we rate it medium to self-host, and it runs on your server.

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