Try Directus Online: Free Trial to Production
Try Directus online for free in 90 seconds. Complete comparison of costs: Directus Cloud, DIY self-hosted, or managed EU hosting. See why 500K+ projects chose it.
- Directus is an open-source headless CMS with 38,000 GitHub stars and 500,000+ projects deployed globally.
- You can try Directus free in 90 seconds on Directus Cloud or run it locally with Docker in 3 minutes.
- Self-hosting costs EUR 295-505/month including labor; Directus Cloud Professional costs EUR 99-300/month with per-seat overages.
- Managed hosting (Opsily) offers EUR 30-300/month flat with no per-seat costs, EU data residency, and 24/7 support.
- Most teams move to managed hosting when their team grows or compliance (GDPR) becomes critical.
Directus is a modern headless CMS that runs on your own database. You get instant APIs, a no-code admin interface, and zero vendor lock-in. With 38,000 GitHub stars and 500,000+ projects already deployed, it's production-ready. But before you commit, you need to know what it actually costs to run at scale. Here are the fastest ways to try it today and what to expect when you grow.
What Is Directus? (TL;DR for Decision-Makers)
Directus is an open-source backend platform that creates instant APIs on top of SQL databases. You connect your database (Postgres, MySQL, SQLite), and Directus generates a REST and GraphQL API automatically, plus a web-based data management interface that works like Airtable.
Why use it instead of building a backend from scratch? Speed. Your team ships a production API in hours, not weeks. No custom code, no vendor lock-in: if you leave, your data and database stay yours.
The numbers show adoption: 38,000 stars on GitHub, 500,000+ projects deployed globally, 300+ open-source contributors. It's maintained actively and trusted in production by teams across SaaS, media, and commerce.
Who uses Directus? Startups building MVPs (faster than writing Rails). Teams running headless content platforms (blogs, e-commerce catalogs). Enterprise teams managing APIs across departments. Fast-moving teams that can't wait for internal backend tooling.
The caveat: Directus is a database wrapper, not a turnkey SaaS. You bring your database. You host it (or we do). That flexibility is also responsibility. Some teams thrive with that. Some regret it.
If you want a full breakdown of hosting options and costs, see our managed Directus hosting comparison.
Try Directus in 90 Seconds: Directus Cloud
The fastest way to see Directus in action is Directus Cloud, their official SaaS platform. Here's what happens when you sign up:
- Create a free account at directus.cloud
- Create a new project (Directus provisions a PostgreSQL database and Directus instance)
- Log in and start building
Total time: 90 seconds. You get a live URL, a working API, and sample data to explore.
What you get on the free tier: Directus Cloud offers a limited free tier (exact API call limits vary; check their pricing page). For paid plans, Starter is EUR 15 per month and includes 100K API calls and one user seat. Professional is EUR 99 per month and adds more seats and calls. Additional seats cost EUR 50 each.
Why this is good: Zero setup time. You don't touch infrastructure. Directus handles backups and scaling. It's the fastest path from zero to POC.
Why this breaks down: The per-seat model gets expensive fast. A team of five on Professional (EUR 99 base) plus four seats at EUR 50 each equals EUR 299 per month. Add overage charges (EUR 0.50 per million API calls) if you hit limits. A startup with 10M API requests per month pays an extra EUR 5 per month--but teams often hit 100M, which costs EUR 50 per month in overages alone.
You're also locked to Directus's infrastructure and their tier structure. If you have compliance requirements (GDPR, data residency in Germany), Directus Cloud may not meet them.
When to use Directus Cloud: POC (proof of concept), internal tool, small team, short deadline, don't care about cost optimization.
When to avoid: Growing team, compliance needs, high API volume, budget-conscious.
Try Locally: Docker in 3 Minutes
Want to try Directus without giving Directus Inc. your data or hitting a paid plan? Run it locally on your machine using Docker.
The one-liner:
docker run -it --rm -p 8055:8055 directus/directus
That's it. Directus starts on port 8055. Open your browser and navigate to localhost:8055, create your admin account, and you have a full instance running locally with an embedded SQLite database.
What you get: A complete Directus installation. Create your own data model (tables, columns, roles, permissions). Build APIs. Explore the no-code admin UI. Prototype without touching the internet.
The Docker Compose approach (better for real work): If you want persistence (so your data survives a container restart), use Docker Compose with PostgreSQL. Save this as docker-compose.yml, then run docker-compose up. Wait 30 seconds for Postgres to initialize, then open your browser to localhost:8055.
Pros: Free. Totally private (no data leaves your machine). Full feature access. No sign-up. Works offline.
Cons: Localhost only (can't share a live URL with your team unless you expose your machine, which is risky). Data is lost on container stop unless you use Docker Compose. Not production (no monitoring, backups, or SSL).
When to use this: Exploration, learning, prototyping alone, testing an integration, before committing to a hosting platform.
The Cost Reality: Self-Hosting vs Directus Cloud vs Managed
This is where most teams make their decision. Here's the math.
Option 1: Self-Hosted on a VPS (DIY)
You run Directus on your own server. Typical stack: Linux VPS, PostgreSQL, Redis, S3-compatible object storage (for file uploads). Many teams choose this path because they want full control and plan to operate their own infrastructure anyway.
Monthly infrastructure costs:
- VPS (e.g., Hetzner, Vultr, DigitalOcean): EUR 30-50
- PostgreSQL (managed, e.g., DigitalOcean DBaaS or Scalingo): EUR 30-80
- Redis: EUR 5-15
- S3-compatible storage (Wasabi, Backblaze B2): EUR 10-20
- CDN, monitoring, backups: EUR 20-40
Subtotal: EUR 95-205 per month in visible costs.
But there's hidden labor: Someone on your team manages upgrades, monitors disk space, handles database backups, debugs crashes at 2 AM, scales resources when traffic spikes. Realistically: 4-6 hours per month of work. At EUR 50 per hour (reasonable for a developer in the EU), that's EUR 200-300 per month in labor.
Total real cost: EUR 295-505 per month (EUR 3,540-6,060 per year).
Option 2: Directus Cloud (Official SaaS)
Starter (EUR 15 per month): 1 user, 100K API calls, manual backups. Good for solo.
Professional (EUR 99 per month): 2 users (plus EUR 50 per extra seat), 5M API calls included, then EUR 0.50 per million extra.
Example: Team of 5 developers, 10M API requests per month.
- Professional plan: EUR 99
- 4 extra seats: EUR 50 x 4 = EUR 200
- Overage (5M extra calls): EUR 0.50 x 5 = EUR 2.50
- Total: EUR 301.50 per month (EUR 3,618 per year)
If traffic doubles to 20M calls: Add EUR 5 per month. If it hits 100M (realistic for a scaling SaaS): Add EUR 50 per month.
Pros: No DevOps. Directus handles backups and uptime.
Cons: Costs scale badly with team size and API traffic. No data residency choice (hosted in Directus's data centers). No custom capacity planning.
Option 3: Managed Hosting (Opsily)
Opsily runs Directus on your behalf in EU data centers (Germany, Netherlands). Pricing: EUR 30-300 per month flat fee depending on resource tier. Single pricing model: no per-seat overages, no API call surcharges.
Example: Team of 5, 20M API requests per month, EU data residency required.
- Opsily managed instance: EUR 100 per month (flat, includes all seats, all API calls, GDPR-compliant hosting)
- Annual: EUR 1,200
Why this matters: Predictable cost. No surprises when traffic spikes. EU data centers mean GDPR compliance by default (data stored in Germany or Netherlands, not AWS US regions). Uptime SLA and support included.
Cost Comparison Table:
| Scenario | DIY VPS | Directus Cloud | Opsily Managed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small team (2 devs, 5M API calls/mo) | EUR 295-505 | EUR 150-200 | EUR 50/mo |
| Growing team (5 devs, 20M API calls/mo) | EUR 350-550 | EUR 300-400 | EUR 100/mo |
| Scaling SaaS (10 devs, 100M API calls/mo) | EUR 400-600 | EUR 500-650 | EUR 200-250/mo |
| GDPR + compliance required? | No (custom work) | No | Yes (included) |
| Support? | No | Email only | 24/7 included |
The pattern: DIY wins on price if you like managing servers. Directus Cloud wins on simplicity if you have a small team and light traffic. Managed hosting (Opsily) wins for teams that want EU compliance, predictable costs, and support without DevOps.
See our full breakdown at managed Directus hosting and Directus as a Service.
Why Teams Move to Managed Hosting (The Real Reasons)
After evaluating costs and pain points, growing teams often choose managed hosting over DIY or cloud SaaS. Here's why.
Reason 1: Certainty, not surprises
On Directus Cloud, a traffic spike that hits 5x normal API calls can add EUR 200+ to your bill in a single month. On a VPS, it might trigger autoscaling and drain your credit card faster. On managed hosting, your monthly fee doesn't change. You plan the budget and move on.
Reason 2: GDPR and data residency
Directus Cloud stores data in their data centers (often US-region by default). If your customers are in Europe, or your contract requires it, this is a blocker. Opsily hosts in Germany and Netherlands. Data never leaves the EU. GDPR compliance is automatic, not a project.
Reason 3: Time to production
DIY requires: Learn Docker. Set up the VPS. Provision the database. Configure backups. Set up monitoring. Debug the networking. 4+ hours before you're live.
Directus Cloud: 90 seconds.
Managed hosting (Opsily): 3 minutes. A support team verifies the setup, and you're done.
Reason 4: Support when it breaks
At 2 AM, your API starts returning 500 errors. On DIY, you wake up and SSH into the server. On Directus Cloud, you email their support and wait for business hours. On managed hosting, you call support and someone picks up.
Reason 5: Scaling without re-architecture
Traffic triples. On DIY, you manually resize your server and database. Possible downtime. On Directus Cloud, you hit the limit and start paying overages. On managed hosting, you click "upgrade plan" in the dashboard. 30 seconds. No downtime.
Real example: A EUR 500K SaaS company with 5 developers. They tried DIY (spent 3 weeks debugging Postgres replica lag). They tried Directus Cloud (costs hit EUR 400 per month for 8 seats plus traffic). They moved to Opsily (EUR 120 per month flat, GDPR compliance included, support answered questions in 2 hours).
Your Path from Free Trial to Production
Most teams don't go straight from "never heard of Directus" to "production instance." Here's the realistic journey.
Stage 1: Evaluate (Week 1)
You sign up for Directus Cloud or spin up Docker locally. Build a small schema (a few tables), explore the admin UI, hit the API from your frontend code. Goal: Decide if Directus fits your architecture. Cost: EUR 0 (free tier).
Timeline: 1-2 days of exploration.
Stage 2: Pilot (Weeks 2-4)
You build a real feature on Directus: a blog module, a product catalog, a user database. Test with your team. Measure performance. Check for missing features. Cost: EUR 0-50 (if you upgrade to Directus Cloud to test seat limits).
Timeline: 2-4 weeks of active development.
Stage 3: Production Decision (Week 5)
You've proven Directus works. Now decide: Where do we run this in production?
Option A: Stay on Directus Cloud. Pro: Simple. Con: Costs unknown, team growth painful.
Option B: DIY on a VPS. Pro: Full control. Con: Now you own DevOps.
Option C: Managed hosting (Opsily). Pro: No DevOps, EU compliance, predictable costs. Con: Less control.
Most growing teams pick Option C at this stage.
Stage 4: Migration (Week 6)
If you're moving from Directus Cloud or Docker to managed hosting, you export your data and database schema, then import into Opsily's instance. Opsily support typically handles this. Downtime: minimal (typically under 30 minutes).
Data moves cleanly because everything is SQL. No re-platforming needed.
The timeline in practice: POC (2 weeks) plus pilot (4-6 weeks) plus migration (1 week) = 7-9 weeks from "we're evaluating Directus" to "it's live in production and teams are shipping features."
Compare that to building a custom backend (4-6 months) or shopping for a different CMS (2-3 months of evaluation). Directus wins on speed because you're not reinventing architecture; you're just choosing who runs it.
When you're ready to scale, Opsily's support team can help with performance tuning, scaling, and compliance--all of it. No handoff. No "you own this now."
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I try Directus for free?
Yes. Create a free account on directus.cloud and you get a limited trial. Alternatively, run docker run -p 8055:8055 directus/directus locally and you have a full instance on your machine with zero cost. Both paths work; Docker is permanent (until you delete the container), while Directus Cloud free tier expires or limits API calls.
Is Directus open source?
Yes. Directus is licensed under the BUSL (Business Source License), which means the source code is public and free for teams with under EUR 5M revenue and fewer than 50 employees. Above that, you need a commercial license. Self-hosting (including managed hosting via Opsily) is covered under the free tier as long as you don't sell Directus itself as a service.
Do I need to know SQL?
No. The no-code admin interface handles data modeling, permissions, and workflows without touching SQL. But knowing SQL helps when you need to query large datasets directly, optimize complex queries for your API, or debug performance issues. Most teams find the admin UI intuitive enough for non-technical operations staff.
What if I start on Directus Cloud and outgrow it?
Directus exports your data and database schema cleanly because everything is SQL-based. You can migrate to self-hosted on your own VPS or to managed hosting like Opsily. The migration typically takes a few hours (database dump and restore). Support teams can guide the process. No re-platforming needed because Directus is Directus, regardless of hosting.
Is Directus secure?
Directus includes role-based access control, API token management, encryption at rest (if your database supports it), and audit logging. Security depends partly on how well you configure it and how you deploy it. Managed hosting (Opsily) adds EU data residency, DPA (Data Protection Agreement), regular backups, and 24/7 support. Directus Cloud offers encryption too but lacks the EU data residency option.
What support do I get?
Directus Cloud offers email support during business hours. Directus has an active community forum and public GitHub for bug reports. Managed hosting (Opsily) includes 24/7 support as part of the plan. If you're on DIY VPS, support is whatever you bring: your own debugging, community Slack channels, or paying for a consultant.
Can I build websites with Directus?
Directus is a backend/CMS, not a website builder. It excels at managing content (blogs, product databases, user data) and providing APIs to your frontend. You build the front-end separately using React, Next.js, Vue, or any framework. Many teams use Directus as the backend for a Jamstack site (Directus plus Next.js, for example). If you want a drag-and-drop website builder, you'd need Webflow or Wix instead.
Does Directus have AI features?
Directus has integrations with LLM APIs (like OpenAI) for automation and content generation, but it's not a built-in AI assistant. You configure workflows and webhooks to call LLMs. Some managed hosting providers (like Opsily) can help set up these integrations. If AI-powered content generation is core to your product, consider Directus alongside an AI API service (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic).
The Bottom Line
Directus is production-ready: 38,000 GitHub stars, 500,000+ projects deployed, actively maintained. You can start for free today (Directus Cloud or Docker) and have a working API in 90 seconds.
The catch: Directus is a database wrapper, not a turnkey platform. You decide where it runs and who operates it. For small projects and tight budgets, DIY works. For growing teams that value certainty and compliance, managed hosting makes more sense. Directus Cloud sits in the middle: simple but expensive at scale.
Most teams that care about EU compliance, predictable costs, and 24/7 support choose managed hosting. No setup time. No DevOps burden. Ship your product faster.
Ready to get started? Try Directus Cloud free, or spin up a Docker instance locally. When you're ready to move to production with EU data residency and included support, launch your managed instance with Opsily.