Directus
Instant headless CMS and REST/GraphQL API over Postgres, with a data studio your editors will actually like.
One-click deploy, from $13/mo on a Miget plan.
Directus takes a refreshingly honest approach to headless CMS: it introspects a plain Postgres database and instantly serves REST and GraphQL APIs plus a polished admin studio over it. Your schema stays normal SQL - no proprietary content model lock-in, and anything else (BI tools, scripts, this catalogue’s Metabase) can query the same tables.
This template runs Directus 11 on a managed Postgres with an uploads volume. Three variables bootstrap it: a SECRET, and the first admin’s email and password. Set PUBLIC_URL after first deploy and the studio, auth flows, and asset URLs all line up.
The license story is unusual: self-hosting Directus is free at any scale (BSL source-available); what costs money is their cloud hosting, from $99/month. This stack does that part for $13.
Upstream project: Directus 11
#what you get
- Instant REST + GraphQL APIs over your Postgres schema
- Data studio: content editing, roles/permissions, flows (automation)
- No proprietary content model - it is just your database
- File library on a persistent uploads volume
- Managed Postgres auto-provisioned and auto-wired
- Opt-in realtime websockets upstream
#topology
| Service | Role | Public |
|---|---|---|
| directus | studio + REST/GraphQL API (:5000) | yes |
| db | Postgres - managed service on Miget, container locally | no |
#miget sizing
// this stack needs
2 GiB RAM · 10 GB disk · 2 services
1 GiB suits typical headless-CMS traffic; content APIs are read-heavy and cache well. The uploads volume is the growth dial for media-heavy projects.
Hobby - recommended fit
$13/mo
1 vCPU · 2 GiB · 50 GiB disk
Headroom for your own apps: 2 GiB at $19/mo
Professional - production
$22/mo
1 vCPU · 2 GiB · 10 GiB disk
Dedicated resources, production SLOs - plan details
One Miget plan is a fixed pool of compute - the whole stack (managed databases included) deploys inside it, and anything left over runs your other apps. No per-service or per-seat math.
#vs. the managed service
What the hosted equivalents charge, against the flat Miget plan this stack fits on. Prices as of June 2026, sources linked.
| Service | Plan | Monthly | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Directus on Miget ★ | 2 GiB plan | $13 | this whole stack, flat - no usage meters, and room left for your own apps |
| Directus Cloud | hosting add-on | ~$99 | cheapest cloud hosting (3 seats, 25 collections); the license itself is free either way |
#vs. other PaaS
Estimated monthly cost of running this exact stack (2 GiB RAM, 10 GB disk, 2 containers) elsewhere, from published June 2026 rates.
| Platform | Est. monthly | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Miget ★ | $13 flat | compose stacks first-class: one deploy, dedicated vCPU, managed Postgres/Valkey, volumes and TLS all included in the plan |
| Heroku | ~$100 | no volumes; nothing between 1 GB ($50) and 2.5 GB ($250) dynos - 2 GB containers cost far more than shown |
| DO App Platform | ~$29 | no persistent volumes - stateful containers need managed DBs/Spaces (base $5 Spaces included here) |
| Render | ~$28 | per-service instances (0.5 GB $7, 2 GB $25) - every container is its own paid service |
| Railway | ~$22 | usage-based ($10/GB RAM-mo); vCPU billed separately at $20/vCPU-mo on top |
| Fly.io | ~$13 | cheapest sticker price - but burstable shared CPUs (1/16 core; dedicated vCPUs cost ~2-3×), no compose deploys (one app per container, manual wiring), managed DBs billed extra |
Estimates assume RAM fully allocated at published on-demand rates - and sticker price isn't the whole comparison: the cheaper rows buy burstable shared CPUs, per-service wiring instead of a compose deploy, and managed databases billed separately. Heroku and DO App Platform have no persistent volumes at all - stateful stacks like this one need workarounds there.
#deploy it
On Miget
- Create a Compose Stack in app.miget.com pointing at the templates repository
- Set the stack path to
directus -
Set the required variables:
SECRET, session/crypto secret (openssl rand -hex 32) - explicit, or sessions break on restartADMIN_EMAIL / ADMIN_PASSWORD, bootstrap admin, applied on first init onlyPUBLIC_URL, set to the app’s https domain after first deploy
- Deploy. Miget layers
compose.miget.yaml(RAM, privacy, volumes, managed services) automatically
Locally first?
Every template is portable, vanilla Docker Compose - the Miget overrides are ignored locally:
git clone https://github.com/deployable-sh/stacks
cd miget-compose-templates/directus
docker compose up -dSame files, same behavior. The template README covers connection strings and scaling notes.
#faq
Directus or Strapi?
Directus if you want the database to stay a normal Postgres schema you own (it introspects; nothing is locked into the CMS), Strapi if you prefer code-first content-type definitions in a Node project. Operationally Directus is the lighter, single-container deploy - which is why it is the one in this catalogue first.
What does the BSL license mean for me?
Self-hosting for your own projects and clients is free at any scale. The Business Source License mainly restricts offering Directus itself as a competing hosted service. For the standard agency/product use case, nothing changes versus open source.
How does $13/month compare to Directus Cloud?
Directus Cloud’s cheapest hosting add-on is $99/month for 3 seats and 25 collections. Self-hosted has no seat or collection limits - the software is identical, you are only replacing their hosting line item.
Can other tools query the same database?
Yes - that is the design. The schema is plain Postgres, so Metabase dashboards, ETL jobs, or any in-project app can read the same tables Directus manages, by service name, without going through the API.
Ship Directus today
One compose stack, 2 GiB of RAM, from $13/month flat, and it runs on your laptop with the same files.