CMS comparison Directus vs Optimizely CMS

Directus vs Optimizely CMS

Directus is a closed-source headless CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Optimizely CMS is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 14.

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Directus Headless · Closed source · 18 of 28 built in
Optimizely CMS Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 22 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Directus on 29 Sept 2026, Optimizely CMS on 29 Sept 2026. Plans and releases can change after those dates.

WAYF is an official Payload partner and top contributor. Every platform in the table is classified by the same published definitions, and each answer lists the vendor page it came from.

Feature comparison

Built inPaid tierPlugin or add-onLimitedNot available

Directus vs Optimizely CMS feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Directus Headless	Optimizely CMS Enterprise DXP
Overview
What it is	Source-available data platform and headless CMS that puts a Studio admin app and REST and GraphQL APIs over your own SQL database.	Optimizely's .NET CMS for rendered and headless sites, hosted on Optimizely's DXP cloud or self-hosted, with Optimizely Graph for delivery.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes.	Directus 12, self-hosted core tier or licensed plans, with optional Directus Cloud Version 12.4.1, released 23 Sept 2026	Optimizely CMS 13 PaaS, the current flagship. CMS SaaS is a separate hosted variant. Version 13.1.3, released 9 Sept 2026
Vendor	Monospace Inc. directus.com	Optimizely optimizely.com
Licence	Closed source MSCL-1.0-GPL, source-available, GPL-3.0 after four years. Free under $5M revenue and 50 staff via the Open Innovation Grant	Closed source Proprietary
Hosting	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Directus Cloud is a $99 per month add-on for Core and Team. Enterprise cloud on request.	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Self-hosted installs lose Opti ID features such as Opal and the DAM.
Built with	TypeScript, Node.js, Vue	.NET 10, ASP.NET Core
Database	PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, MS SQL Server, Oracle, CockroachDB	SQL Server, Azure SQL on DXP
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	Free to start Core free for 3 seats and 25 collections. Team $499 per month billed yearly or $599 monthly. Enterprise on request.	No free option Pricing on request.
Content modelling
Content model in code You define content types in files in your repository, review them like any other code and apply them from there. Imperative migration scripts alone count as limited.	Built in Schema snapshots are files in the repo, applied to an instance with the CLI. 16	Built in Content types as C# classes. 3
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code.	Built in	Built in Content types and properties in Settings. 4
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them.	Built in Page builders use many-to-any relations. 17	Built in Blocks in content areas and Visual Builder elements.
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language.	Built in Translations field with related translation records.	Built in Language branches per content item. 5
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service.	Built in URL parameters and saved presets. 13	Built in DXP CDN resizes, crops and converts images by URL parameters. 6
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Built in	Built in Content Delivery API 13 and a management REST API. 1 2
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in	Built in Optimizely Graph, included in the CMS 13 licence. 2 8
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published.	Built in Through Flows. Core allows 5 Flows. 2 19	Limited Graph webhooks fire on sync batches and expired content only. Per-item hooks need code. 7 2
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no.	Not available	Built in ASP.NET Core MVC and Razor rendering, or headless. 2
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then.	Built in Content versioning with a draft per item. 6	Built in 9
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish.	Limited No schedule field. An official guide publishes future items with a scheduled Flow. 14	Built in 9
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Limited Revisions kept 30 days on Core, 90 on Team, configurable on Enterprise. 2	Built in
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing.	Built in	Built in
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it.	Built in Visual Editor module. The site adds the Directus frontend library. 7	Built in Visual Builder. 2
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage.	Limited Built from a status field and custom permissions, which need Team, Enterprise or the grant. 15 2	Built in Approval sequences. 10
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release.	Not available	Built in Projects publish or schedule grouped items together. 11
Real-time co-editing Two or more editors can work on the same entry at once and see each other's changes live.	Built in Collaborative Editing with field locking. 8	Not available Comments and notifications only. 12
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set.	Built in Unlimited roles on Core. Custom access policies need Team, Enterprise or the grant. 2 20	Built in Access rights for roles and virtual roles. 13
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries.	Paid tier Custom permissions for fields and item rules need Team, Enterprise or the grant. 2 5	Not available Access rights apply per content item. Not documented per property. 13
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider.	Paid tier Team plan and up, or the grant. SAML, OpenID, OAuth 2.0 and LDAP. 2 11	Built in Opti ID with an external identity provider, or OpenID Connect in code. 2
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log.	Limited Activity log kept 30 days on Core, 90 on Team, configurable on Enterprise. 2 12	Built in Change Log in Settings. 14
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users.	Not available	Built in Several sites and hosts in one installation. 15
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface.	Built in Extensions add interfaces, layouts, panels and modules.	Built in Shell modules, gadgets and custom editor widgets. 16
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Built in Marketplace inside the Studio. 18	Built in Optimizely connectors directory and NuGet add-ons. 17
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Not available	Plugin or add-on Optimizely Forms package. No extra licence. 18
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors.	Built in API-only application users do not use Studio seats. 3	Limited Visitor login uses ASP.NET Core authentication set up in code. 2
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content.	Built in AI Assistant on every plan with your own OpenAI, Anthropic or Gemini key. 2 9	Plugin or add-on Opal, billed through Opal credits. Needs Opti ID on DXP. 2 19
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content.	Built in Built in since 11.12. 10	Built in MCP server in the Optimizely.Cms.Opal.Tools package. 20

Directus sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Directus 12, self-hosted core tier or licensed plans, with optional Directus Cloud.

Optimizely CMS sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Optimizely CMS 13 PaaS, the current flagship. CMS SaaS is a separate hosted variant..

Considering more platforms? Compare Directus and Optimizely CMS with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

Directus and Optimizely CMS get a different status on 14 of the 28 features and the same status on 14. Directus has 18 built in on its baseline edition, Optimizely CMS has 22. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Free option: Directus has a free option. Optimizely CMS has no free option.

Built in on Directus, a different answer on Optimizely CMS 4

Webhooks Directus: Built in. Optimizely CMS: Limited.
Real-time co-editing Directus: Built in. Optimizely CMS: Not available.
Site member accounts Directus: Built in. Optimizely CMS: Limited.
AI writing assistant Directus: Built in. Optimizely CMS: Plugin or add-on.

Built in on Optimizely CMS, a different answer on Directus 8

Renders the website Directus: Not available. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Scheduled publishing Directus: Limited. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Version history Directus: Limited. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Approval workflows Directus: Limited. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Content releases Directus: Not available. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Single sign-on Directus: Paid tier. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Audit log Directus: Limited. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Multiple sites Directus: Not available. Optimizely CMS: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 2

Field-level permissions Directus: Paid tier. Optimizely CMS: Not available.
Form builder Directus: Not available. Optimizely CMS: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Directus vs Payload and Optimizely CMS vs Payload.

Optimizely CMS against other platforms

Open the CMS comparison tool to put up to six platforms in one table.

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