PocketBase vs Directus

Side-by-side — pricing, strengths, tradeoffs, and fit.

PocketBase

Open source backend in 1 file

Directus

Open data platform for any SQL database

At a glance

Open SourceFree Tier
● Established·From Free / Open Source
Open SourceFree Tier
● Established·From Freemium

Overview

One-liner

Open source backend in 1 file

One-liner

Open data platform for any SQL database

Maturity

Established

Maturity

Established

Open source

✓ Yes

Open source

✓ Yes

Pricing

Free tier

✓ Available

Free tier

✓ Available

Starts at

Free / Open Source

Starts at

Freemium

Model

Flat rate

Model

Hybrid

Enterprise

✕ None

Enterprise

✕ None

Best for

✓ Best for

Solo developers and small teams building side projects or internal tools who want a complete backend in a single binary

✓ Best for

Teams wanting a flexible headless CMS that works with existing SQL databases

Not ideal for

✕ Not for

Large-scale applications with millions of users or multi-node database requirements

✕ Not for

Pure content-only use cases where a traditional CMS workflow is preferred

Strengths

↑ Strengths

SQLite backend
Auth system
File storage
Realtime subscriptions

↑ Strengths

Database-agnostic
REST & GraphQL
No-code app
Flows (automations)

Weaknesses

↓ Weaknesses

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↓ Weaknesses

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Full PocketBase profile →Full Directus profile →