Directus
Huly
| Feature | Directus | Huly |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $99/mo | Free / from $12/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | developers, agencies, content-teams, data-driven-teams | startups, developers, open-source-teams, small-companies |
| Founded | 2016 | 2022 |
| Data Studio | ✓ | ✗ |
| Rest Api | ✓ | ✗ |
| Graphql Api | ✓ | ✗ |
| Flows | ✓ | ✗ |
| Permissions | ✓ | ✗ |
| File Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Issues | ✗ | ✓ |
| Documents | ✗ | ✓ |
| Chat | ✗ | ✓ |
| Hr Module | ✗ | ✓ |
| Time Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Boards | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Directus Pros
- Open source
- Database-first
- Beautiful admin UI
- REST + GraphQL
✗ Directus Cons
- Self-hosting required for free
- Smaller community
- Documentation gaps
✓ Huly Pros
- Open-source
- All-in-one platform
- Modern interface
- Self-hostable
✗ Huly Cons
- Newer and less proven
- Smaller community
- Features still developing
The Verdict
Directus is built for developers and agencies, with a focus on data-studio and rest-api. Huly targets startups and developers and leads with issues and documents.
On pricing, Huly is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $12/mo compared to $99/mo for Directus. That $87/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Both tools are a solid fit for developers — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.