Directus
osTicket
| Feature | Directus | osTicket |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $99/mo | Free / from $12/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4 / 5 |
| Best For | developers, agencies, content-teams, data-driven-teams | small-businesses, budget-conscious-teams, self-hosted-advocates, it-departments |
| Founded | 2016 | 2003 |
| Data Studio | ✓ | ✗ |
| Rest Api | ✓ | ✗ |
| Graphql Api | ✓ | ✗ |
| Flows | ✓ | ✗ |
| Permissions | ✓ | ✗ |
| File Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ticket Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email Piping | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Fields | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sla Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Agent Collision Avoidance | ✗ | ✓ |
| Knowledge Base | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Directus Pros
- Open source
- Database-first
- Beautiful admin UI
- REST + GraphQL
✗ Directus Cons
- Self-hosting required for free
- Smaller community
- Documentation gaps
✓ osTicket Pros
- Completely free self-hosted version
- Active open-source community
- Highly customizable
- Supports multiple departments
✗ osTicket Cons
- Dated user interface
- Requires server management
- Limited automation compared to paid tools
The Verdict
Directus is built for developers and agencies, with a focus on data-studio and rest-api. osTicket targets small businesses and budget conscious teams and leads with ticket-management and email-piping.
On pricing, osTicket 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.
Bottom line: Directus has a slight overall edge — but if completely free self-hosted version matters most to you, osTicket may still be the right call.