Directus
Stackby
| Feature | Directus | Stackby |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $99/mo | Free / from $5/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.1 / 5 |
| Best For | developers, agencies, content-teams, data-driven-teams | small-businesses, solopreneurs, budget-conscious-teams, non-technical-users |
| Founded | 2016 | 2019 |
| Data Studio | ✓ | ✗ |
| Rest Api | ✓ | ✗ |
| Graphql Api | ✓ | ✗ |
| Flows | ✓ | ✗ |
| Permissions | ✓ | ✗ |
| File Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Api Columns | ✗ | ✓ |
| Column Types | ✗ | ✓ |
| Views | ✗ | ✓ |
| Forms | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pre Built Templates | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Directus Pros
- Open source
- Database-first
- Beautiful admin UI
- REST + GraphQL
✗ Directus Cons
- Self-hosting required for free
- Smaller community
- Documentation gaps
✓ Stackby Pros
- Very affordable pricing
- API column type for live data
- Pre-built templates for common use cases
- Good Airtable alternative
✗ Stackby Cons
- Smaller user community
- UI less polished than competitors
- Limited automation capabilities
The Verdict
Directus is built for developers and agencies, with a focus on data-studio and rest-api. Stackby targets small businesses and solopreneurs and leads with api-columns and column-types.
On pricing, Stackby is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $5/mo compared to $99/mo for Directus. That $94/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.
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.