How much does Directus cost?

Paid plans start at $599/mo. There's also an Enterprise tier with custom pricing. You can get started on the free plan before committing.

Is there a free plan?

Yes. The "Core" plan is free forever, not just a trial. You get 3 user seats, 25 collections, 5 flows — plus 5 more features. It's enough to evaluate the product before upgrading.

Can I try it before paying?

There's no trial per se, but the free plan lets you use the product indefinitely with some limits.

Is there a discount for annual billing?

Yes — you save up to 17% if you pay annually instead of month-to-month. They also mention: "Team is $499/mo with annual commitment vs $599/mo billed monthly."

Directus Pricing (2026)

It's a flat monthly fee, not per-seat pricing, which is a big deal for a database/CMS tool where you'd normally get nickel-and-dimed per user. Cloud hosting is priced separately as a $99/mo add-on, so you're really paying for the platform tier plus optionally offloading infra to Directus.

From $599/mo 3 plans hybrid Free plan Best Directus alternatives → Directus's competitors →

Core: $0/mo
Team Popular: $599/mo
Enterprise: Contact Sales

Verified Aug 22, 2026 Official pricing page

Screenshot of Directus's pricing page showing its plans and prices — Their pricing page, captured Aug 22, 2026

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Core

$0/mo

3 user seats
25 Collections
5 Flows
AI Assistant
Advanced RBAC
Community Support
Cloud Hosted
Add-On

Team

Popular

$599/mo $499/mo annual

10 SSO seats
50 Collections
20 Flows
Granular RBAC
Basic Support
Add-On
Cloud Hosted
Add-On

Enterprise

Contact Sales

Custom SSO seats
Custom Collections
Unlimited Flows
SSO (SAML / OIDC)
Custom LLM
Offline Mode
AI Translations
Telemetry Opt-out
Basic Support
Premium Support
Add-On
Cloud Hosted
Add-On

Does Directus have a free plan?

Yes: the Core plan is free forever, not a time-limited trial. When you outgrow it, paid plans start at $599/mo.

What the free plan includes

3 user seats
25 Collections
5 Flows
AI Assistant
Advanced RBAC
Community Support
Cloud Hosted
Add-On

AI Pricing Analysis

Pricing Model

Tier Strategy

Core is the self-hosted free-for-all — great for devs who just want the open-source engine and don't mind managing their own servers. Team at $599/mo ($499 annual) is aimed at companies that want official support, more collaborators, and production-grade features without building it themselves, and Enterprise kicks in once you need SSO, compliance guarantees, or dedicated support at scale.

Competitive Positioning

A flat $599/mo (or $499 annual) puts them in an odd spot — way pricier than typical per-seat headless CMS tools for small teams, but potentially cheaper than competitors once you have more than a handful of users since there's no seat tax. They're clearly courting mid-size and larger teams who'd otherwise blow past per-seat pricing elsewhere, while still keeping hobbyists and OSS purists happy with a genuinely free self-hosted tier.

Growth Lever

The jump from Core to Team isn't about unlocking basic functionality — it's about support, uptime guarantees, and enterprise-readiness, since the open-source core is already fully featured. Expansion revenue mostly comes from moving off self-hosting onto Directus Cloud ($99/mo) or upgrading to Enterprise for custom contracts, compliance, and white-glove support rather than usage caps or seat limits.

Want the strategist's read on the live page? Read the AI teardown of Directus's pricing page →

Directus Pricing FAQ

How much does Directus cost?: Paid plans start at $599/mo. There's also an Enterprise tier with custom pricing. You can get started on the free plan before committing.
Is there a free plan?: Yes. The "Core" plan is free forever, not just a trial. You get 3 user seats, 25 collections, 5 flows — plus 5 more features. It's enough to evaluate the product before upgrading.
Can I try it before paying?: There's no trial per se, but the free plan lets you use the product indefinitely with some limits.
How does the pricing work?: It's a flat monthly fee, not per-seat pricing, which is a big deal for a database/CMS tool where you'd normally get nickel-and-dimed per user. Cloud hosting is priced separately as a $99/mo add-on, so you're really paying for the platform tier plus optionally offloading infra to Directus.
Is there a discount for annual billing?: Yes — you save up to 17% if you pay annually instead of month-to-month. They also mention: "Team is $499/mo with annual commitment vs $599/mo billed monthly."
Which plan makes sense for me?: Core is the self-hosted free-for-all — great for devs who just want the open-source engine and don't mind managing their own servers. Team at $599/mo ($499 annual) is aimed at companies that want official support, more collaborators, and production-grade features without building it themselves, and Enterprise kicks in once you need SSO, compliance guarantees, or dedicated support at scale.

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Comparing Directus to something specific? Try Directus vs Algolia, Directus vs AnyDesk, or Directus vs Apollo GraphQL. Or see the best Directus alternatives, ranked.

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