# directus vs penpot

> 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.

## Details

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

## Related comparisons

- [OpenDesign vs penpot](https://selfhost.directory/compare/open-design-vs-penpot)
- [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-penpot