Directus
Tally Forms
| Feature | Directus | Tally Forms |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $99/mo | Free / from $29/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.6 / 5 |
| Best For | developers, agencies, content-teams, enterprise-backends | startups, freelancers, marketers, researchers |
| Founded | 2016 | 2020 |
| Auto Generated Apis | ✓ | ✗ |
| Admin Panel | ✓ | ✗ |
| Roles And Permissions | ✓ | ✗ |
| Flows Automation | ✓ | ✗ |
| File Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Translations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Form Builder | ✗ | ✓ |
| Conditional Logic | ✗ | ✓ |
| File Uploads | ✗ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Branding | ✗ | ✓ |
| Analytics | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Directus Pros
- Works with existing databases
- Beautiful admin interface
- REST + GraphQL APIs auto-generated
- Fully self-hostable
✗ Directus Cons
- Cloud pricing jumps to $99/mo
- Complex features require developer knowledge
- Documentation could be better organized
✓ Tally Forms Pros
- Unlimited forms on free
- No-code logic
- Beautiful design
- Many integrations
✗ Tally Forms Cons
- Limited branding on free
- Fewer templates than Typeform
- No payment processing on free
The Verdict
Directus is built for developers and agencies, with a focus on auto-generated-apis and admin-panel. Tally Forms targets startups and freelancers and leads with form-builder and conditional-logic.
On pricing, Tally Forms is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $29/mo compared to $99/mo for Directus. That $70/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.