# directus vs Kanidm

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | directus | Kanidm |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 79/100 ✓ | 67/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 13 in Headless CMS | #3 of 3 in IAM |
| GitHub stars | 38 708 ✓ | 5 512 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +752 ✓ | +108 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 18 ✓ | 14 |
| Latest release | v12.6.0 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ | v1.11.2 · 11 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Other | MPL-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Rust |

## Which one should you pick?

directus scores 79/100 against 67/100 for Kanidm, so it is the safer default.

directus ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 14 for Kanidm.

If you want the quickest setup, directus is easier to run; Kanidm needs more configuration.

directus is growing faster right now (+752 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [directus](https://selfhost.directory/project/directus) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/directus.md)
- [Kanidm](https://selfhost.directory/project/kanidm) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/kanidm.md)

## Related comparisons

- [directus vs Ghost](https://selfhost.directory/compare/directus-vs-ghost)
- [directus vs nocodb](https://selfhost.directory/compare/directus-vs-nocodb)
- [directus vs Payload CMS](https://selfhost.directory/compare/directus-vs-payload-cms)
- [directus vs Wagtail](https://selfhost.directory/compare/directus-vs-wagtail)

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/directus-vs-kanidm