Up to 4 at once.
| Criteria | Directus | Magnolia |
|---|---|---|
| Weighted Score | 2.7/5 | 3.6/5 |
| Pricing | Core is free (up to 3 seats, self-hosted); Team is $499/mo on an annual commitment ($599/mo billed monthly); Enterprise is custom. Directus Cloud hosting is a $99/mo add-on. Organisations under $5M revenue and 50 staff can apply for a free licence. | Custom enterprise pricing for DX Cloud and Self-Managed tiers; free open-source Community Edition available. |
| Platform Type | Headless CMS | Headless CMS |
| Content modelling & structured content | 4.6/5 | 4.5/5 |
| Editorial experience | 3.3/5 | 4.6/5 |
| API performance & delivery | 4.6/5 | 4.5/5 |
| SEO & publishing features | 1.5/5 | 3.0/5 |
| Scalability & reliability | 4.5/5 | 4.7/5 |
| Extensibility | 4.7/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Localisation & multi-site | 3.5/5 | 4.6/5 |
| AI & automation | 4.0/5 | 4.5/5 |
| Revenue integrations | 1.0/5 | 2.8/5 |
| Security & compliance | 4.0/5 | 4.6/5 |
| Strengths | ✓ Strong headless data that works as the framework of content delivery ✓ Compatible with any SQL database | ✓ Strong visual editor and API delivery ✓ Governed AI agents for drafting, translation and metadata |
| Limitations | ✗ Not suitable for the editorial workflow of newsrooms | ✗ UI could use more admin features ✗ High operation cost |
Directus
2.7
Rating
★ 2.7/5
Pricing
Core is free (up to 3 seats, self-hosted); Team is $499/mo on an annual commitment ($599/mo billed monthly); Enterprise is custom. Directus Cloud hosting is a $99/mo add-on. Organisations under $5M revenue and 50 staff can apply for a free licence.
Platform
Headless CMS
Scores
Content modelling & structured content
4.6
Editorial experience
3.3
API performance & delivery
4.6
SEO & publishing features
1.5
Scalability & reliability
4.5
Extensibility
4.7
Localisation & multi-site
3.5
AI & automation
4.0
Revenue integrations
1.0
Security & compliance
4.0
Strengths
✓ Strong headless data that works as the framework of content delivery
✓ Compatible with any SQL database
Limitations
✗ Not suitable for the editorial workflow of newsrooms
Magnolia
3.6
Rating
★ 3.6/5
Pricing
Custom enterprise pricing for DX Cloud and Self-Managed tiers; free open-source Community Edition available.
Platform
Headless CMS
Scores
Content modelling & structured content
4.5
Editorial experience
4.6
API performance & delivery
4.5
SEO & publishing features
3.0
Scalability & reliability
4.7
Extensibility
4.4
Localisation & multi-site
4.6
AI & automation
4.5
Revenue integrations
2.8
Security & compliance
4.6
Strengths
✓ Strong visual editor and API delivery
✓ Governed AI agents for drafting, translation and metadata
Limitations
✗ UI could use more admin features
✗ High operation cost
