directusvspenpot
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| directus | penpot | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 79/100 | 84/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 13 in Headless CMS | #1 of 30 in Collaboration |
| GitHub stars | 38 708 | 61 801 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +752 | +1 489 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 18 | 12 |
| Latest release | v12.6.0 · 27 Oct 2026 | 2.18.5 · 26 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Other | MPL-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Clojure |
Which one should you pick?
penpot scores 84/100 against 79/100 for directus, so it is the safer default.
directus ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 12 for penpot.
If you want the quickest setup, directus is easier to run; penpot needs more configuration.
directus details →penpot details →
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