— vs directus
Directus is excellent at one specific thing: a generic database-on-Postgres tool that gives content teams a CMS-like surface over their existing schema. Real-time API is strong; the asset library is well-modelled. The wedge against Directus for our buyer profile is the same as the wedge against any US-headquartered platform: jurisdiction, DORA evidence, and the legal residency of the vendor itself.
| Criterion | Directus | Estøkad |
|---|---|---|
| Positioning | Database-on-Postgres tooling that doubles as a CMS | Headless CMS for regulated buyers |
| Headquarters | Directus is incorporated in the US (Brooklyn, NY) with a remote-first team. EU operations exist but the legal entity is US-domiciled. | Tallinn, Estonia — Samarkand Industries OÜ |
| Per-country residency | Self-host or Directus Cloud regions (US + EU) | 6 EU + Switzerland regions, customer-chosen |
| Audit chain | Activity logs; not cryptographically chained | Hash-chained with daily Merkle roots |
| DORA evidence pack | Not a product feature | Auto-generated, downloadable |
| Schema authoring | Visual collection editor; introspects existing Postgres schemas | TypeScript-first defineType() + visual builder; schemas live in Git |
| Real-time + websockets | Strong — first-class real-time API | WebSocket sync for editor presence; not the headline real-time vendor |
| Asset library | Built-in DAM with strong asset-relations modelling | imgproxy-backed asset pipeline; Bunny CDN for variants |
| Approval workflows | Flows + permissions; configurable but not preset-shipped | Four-eyes approval workflow built into the publish path |
| Pricing model | Self-host free; Cloud from $99/mo (≈€92/mo) | €499/mo Studio managed; €1,699/mo Regulated |
Real-time + WebSocket APIs as a first-class concept; Directus has been investing there for years. Asset-library data modelling is mature and battle-tested. Their self-host story is a clean fit for teams who already operate Postgres and want a UI on top of an existing schema. Open-source community is active.
EU-domiciled vendor; Directus is US-headquartered. Per-country residency at the customer's choice rather than a multi-region selector. DORA evidence pack as a product feature. Approval workflows + field-level RBAC at the Regulated tier. The buyer profile we serve will not pick a US-headquartered vendor for regulated surfaces; that's the constraint.
Same Postgres underneath. Different jurisdiction on top.
See pricing →