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CMS comparison Directus vs Squarespace

Directus vs Squarespace

Directus is a closed-source headless CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Squarespace is a closed-source site builder that runs on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 17.

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  • Directus Headless · Closed source · 18 of 28 built in
  • Squarespace Site builder · Closed source · 9 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Directus on 29 Sept 2026, Squarespace 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 Squarespace feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Directus Headless
Squarespace Site builder
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.Hosted website builder with templates, a visual editor, blogging and commerce. Squarespace runs the hosting.
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 Squarespace website plans on version 7.1 SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor Monospace Inc. directus.com Squarespace, Inc. squarespace.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. No self-hosting Vendor cloud
Built with TypeScript, Node.js, VueHosted SaaS, custom CSS and JavaScript on Core and higher plans
Database PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, MS SQL Server, Oracle, CockroachDBManaged by Squarespace
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 Basic $19, Core $29, Plus $49, Advanced $99 per month billed annually in the US. 14-day free trial.
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 Limited Custom post types in template.conf, only with Developer Mode on version 7.0. 23
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in Not available Fixed page and collection types. No custom fields in the editor. 2
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 Editors add and reorder sections and blocks.
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. Plugin or add-on Weglot extension. Without it, editors duplicate pages per language. 45
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 Squarespace serves uploaded images in generated sizes.
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in Limited Commerce APIs for products, orders and inventory on Core and up. No API for pages. 16
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in Not available
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in Through Flows. Core allows 5 Flows. 219 Limited Commerce events only, through the Webhook Subscriptions API. 7
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
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 Paid tier Page drafts need a Premium or Enterprise plan. Blog posts can be drafts on any plan. 8
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 Limited Blog posts only. 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 Not available Undo and redo within an editing session only. 10
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in Built in Editing happens on the rendered page.
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
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. 152 Limited Enterprise Draft editor role drafts pages for an admin to publish. No custom stages. 811
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Not available
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
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. 220 Not available Fixed contributor permission types. 11
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. 25 Not available
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. 211 Paid tier Premium and Enterprise plans. OpenID Connect through Entra ID, SAML through Google. 1718
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. 212 Not available
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Not available Limited Each site needs its own plan. Enterprise teams manage several sites from one account. 11
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. Not available
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Marketplace inside the Studio. 18 Built in Squarespace Extensions, a directory of third-party tools. 12
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Built in Form blocks store submissions. 13
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 Built in Customer accounts on all plans. Member sites for gated content. 114
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. 29 Built in Squarespace AI writer. Monthly AI credits vary by plan. 115
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 Not available The official MCP server covers domain search only. It can't reach site content. 16

Directus sources

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

  1. directus on the npm registry
  2. Directus pricing
  3. Directus docs: Licensing overview
  4. Monospace Sustainable Core License
  5. Directus docs: Access control
  6. Directus docs: Content versioning
  7. Directus docs: Visual Editor
  8. Directus docs: Collaborative Editing
  9. Directus docs: AI Assistant
  10. Directus docs: Directus MCP
  11. Directus docs: Single Sign-On
  12. Directus docs: Accountability
  13. Directus docs: Transform files
  14. Directus tutorial: Schedule future content with Flows
  15. Directus tutorial: Content approval workflows with custom permissions
  16. Directus tutorial: Promoting changes between environments
  17. Directus tutorial: Reusable blocks with many-to-any relationships
  18. Directus docs: Marketplace
  19. Directus docs: Send Directus webhooks to Clay with Flows
  20. Directus license, MSCL and v12 questions (Contensu)

Squarespace sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Squarespace website plans on version 7.1.

  1. Squarespace pricing
  2. Squarespace Developer Platform: Custom Post Types
  3. Squarespace Developer Platform FAQ
  4. Manually creating a multilingual site
  5. Creating a multilingual site with Weglot
  6. Squarespace Commerce APIs overview
  7. Squarespace webhooks overview
  8. Drafting pages (Premium and Enterprise)
  9. Scheduling blog posts
  10. Using undo and redo in Squarespace
  11. Contributor roles and permissions
  12. Squarespace Extensions
  13. Form blocks
  14. Member Sites
  15. Using Squarespace AI
  16. Overview of the Squarespace MCP server
  17. Logging in with single sign-on through Microsoft Entra ID (Premium & Enterprise)
  18. Logging in with single sign-on through Google (Premium & Enterprise)

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

Where they differ

Directus and Squarespace get a different status on 17 of the 28 features and the same status on 11. Directus has 18 built in on its baseline edition, Squarespace has 9. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Self-hosting
Directus can be self-hosted. Squarespace cannot be self-hosted.
Free option
Directus has a free option. Squarespace has no free option.

Built in on Directus, a different answer on Squarespace 11

  • Content model in code Directus: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Content model in the UI Directus: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Localization Directus: Built in. Squarespace: Plugin or add-on.
  • REST API Directus: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
  • GraphQL API Directus: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Webhooks Directus: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Drafts Directus: Built in. Squarespace: Paid tier.
  • Real-time co-editing Directus: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Custom roles Directus: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Extensible admin UI Directus: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Official MCP server Directus: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.

Built in on Squarespace, a different answer on Directus 2

  • Renders the website Directus: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.
  • Form builder Directus: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

  • Version history Directus: Limited. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Field-level permissions Directus: Paid tier. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Audit log Directus: Limited. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Multiple sites Directus: Not available. Squarespace: Limited.

More comparisons

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

Directus against other platforms

Squarespace against other platforms

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

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