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CMS comparison Directus vs WordPress

Directus vs WordPress

Directus is a closed-source headless CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. WordPress is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 18.

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  • Directus Headless · Closed source · 18 of 28 built in
  • WordPress Traditional · Open source · 13 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Directus on 29 Sept 2026, WordPress 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 WordPress feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Directus Headless
WordPress Traditional
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.Open-source PHP CMS that renders sites through themes and extends through plugins. Teams self-host it or buy managed WordPress 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 WordPress 7.1 core, self-hosted from WordPress.org Version 7.1.2, released 22 Sept 2026
Vendor Monospace Inc. directus.com WordPress.org community project (Automattic is the largest contributor) wordpress.org
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 Open source GPL-2.0-or-later
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Directus Cloud is a $99 per month add-on for Core and Team. Enterprise cloud on request. Self-hosting No vendor cloud Automattic's WordPress.com and many third-party hosts sell managed WordPress.
Built with TypeScript, Node.js, VuePHP, JavaScript, React block editor
Database PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, MS SQL Server, Oracle, CockroachDBMySQL, MariaDB
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. Free to start Free to download and self-host. Hosting and premium plugins cost extra.
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 Post types, taxonomies and meta registered in PHP.
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in Plugin or add-on ACF or Custom Post Type UI plugins. Core has no content type builder. 12
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 Block editor with patterns and synced patterns.
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 WPML or Polylang plugins. Core translates the interface only. 13
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 WordPress generates registered image sizes on upload.
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in Built in 5
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in Plugin or add-on WPGraphQL, a canonical plugin on WordPress.org. 6
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in Through Flows. Core allows 5 Flows. 219 Plugin or add-on WP Webhooks plugin. Core sends no outgoing webhooks. 16
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 Block themes and classic PHP themes.
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 Limited Edits to a published post go live on update. PublishPress Revisions adds pending drafts. 11
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 Scheduled publishing only. Scheduled unpublishing needs a plugin.
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 Revisions with a visual scrubber since 7.0. 2
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 Block Editor and Site Editor edit content inside the theme's styles.
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 Plugin or add-on PublishPress plugins. Core has only the Pending Review status. 711
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 Pulled from 7.0. Still experimental in the Gutenberg plugin. 3418
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 Plugin or add-on Plugins such as Members or User Role Editor. Core roles are fixed. 7
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 Plugin or add-on SAML or OIDC plugins, e.g. miniOrange SAML Single Sign On. 15
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 Plugin or add-on Simple History or WP Activity Log plugins. 14
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Not available Built in Multisite network in core, with shared users. 8
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 Custom blocks, admin pages and meta boxes.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Marketplace inside the Studio. 18 Built in WordPress.org plugin directory.
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Plugin or add-on Form plugins such as WPForms or Contact Form 7. 17
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 Open registration with the Subscriber role. 7
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 Plugin or add-on Official AI plugin plus a connected provider. Core ships the AI Client only. 29
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 Plugin or add-on MCP Adapter plugin from the WordPress AI team. 10

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)

WordPress sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. WordPress 7.1 core, self-hosted from WordPress.org.

  1. WordPress 7.1.2 Release
  2. WordPress 7.0 "Armstrong" release announcement
  3. Real-time collaboration will not ship in WordPress 7.0
  4. Moving to a server-aware approach for collaboration
  5. REST API Handbook
  6. WPGraphQL plugin on WordPress.org
  7. Roles and Capabilities documentation
  8. WordPress Multisite / Network
  9. AI plugin on WordPress.org
  10. WordPress/mcp-adapter on GitHub
  11. PublishPress Revisions plugin
  12. ACF: Post Types and Taxonomies
  13. WPML multilingual plugin
  14. Simple History plugin
  15. SAML Single Sign On plugin (miniOrange)
  16. WP Webhooks plugin
  17. WPForms plugin
  18. Roadmap to 7.1

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

Where they differ

Directus and WordPress get a different status on 18 of the 28 features and the same status on 10. Directus has 18 built in on its baseline edition, WordPress has 13. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Licence
Directus is 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). WordPress is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later).
Vendor cloud
Directus has a vendor-run cloud. WordPress has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Directus, a different answer on WordPress 9

  • Content model in the UI Directus: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Localization Directus: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • GraphQL API Directus: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Webhooks Directus: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Drafts Directus: Built in. WordPress: Limited.
  • Real-time co-editing Directus: Built in. WordPress: Not available.
  • Custom roles Directus: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • AI writing assistant Directus: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Official MCP server Directus: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.

Built in on WordPress, a different answer on Directus 4

  • Renders the website Directus: Not available. WordPress: Built in.
  • Scheduled publishing Directus: Limited. WordPress: Built in.
  • Version history Directus: Limited. WordPress: Built in.
  • Multiple sites Directus: Not available. WordPress: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • Approval workflows Directus: Limited. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Field-level permissions Directus: Paid tier. WordPress: Not available.
  • Single sign-on Directus: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Audit log Directus: Limited. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Form builder Directus: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

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

Directus against other platforms

WordPress against other platforms

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

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