Directus vs Supabase

Detailed comparison to help you choose the right tool for your needs

D

Directus

Open-source headless CMS and data platform

4.5
Editorial Rating
S

Supabase

The open source Firebase alternative

4.5
Editorial Rating

Quick Comparison

Rating

4.5
vs
4.5

Starting Price

Free
vs
Free

Pricing Model

freemium
vs
freemium
Feature
Directus
Supabase
REST & GraphQL API
Role-based access
File management
Webhooks
Custom dashboards
PostgreSQL database
Authentication
Storage
Edge functions
Realtime
REST & GraphQL APIs

Directus Pros

  • Database-agnostic
  • Beautiful admin UI
  • Strong API
  • Active community

Directus Cons

  • Cloud plans expensive
  • Learning curve for complex setups
  • Self-hosting requires maintenance

Supabase Pros

  • Open source — no vendor lock-in
  • Full PostgreSQL power (not a NoSQL compromise)
  • Best free tier in the backend-as-a-service space
  • Excellent developer experience and documentation
  • Row Level Security for fine-grained access control

Supabase Cons

  • Free projects pause after 1 week of inactivity
  • Self-hosting is complex to maintain
  • Smaller ecosystem than Firebase for mobile

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