Directus vs MindsDB

Two self-hosted Database Management apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.

Side by side

DirectusMindsDB
DescriptionInstant App & API for your SQL Database. Directus wraps your new or existing SQL database with a realtime GraphQL+REST API for developers, and an intuitive admin app for non-technical users.AI layer for existing databases that allows you to effortlessly develop, train and deploy state-of-the-art machine learning models using standard queries.
GitHub stars38,72339,863
Forks5k6.2k
Open issues (incl. PRs)3556
Commits (12 months)732692
Last activity2026-11-092026-10-23
Latest releasev12.6.1 (2026-11-04)v26.1.0 (2026-04-23)
Maintenance healthActiveActive
LicenseBUSL-1.1Elastic-2.0
Language / platformNodejs, DockerDocker, Python
Docker Hub imagedirectus/directus–
Docker pulls50959.5k–
Est. server size~1 GB, 1 vCPU~1 GB, 1 vCPU
Est. hosting from$5/mo$5/mo
CategoriesDatabase ManagementDatabase Management
LinksWebsite · SourceWebsite · Source

What the numbers say

Summary: Directus leads on recent activity and Docker Hub availability. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.

This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-15. It does not rate features or quality.

Get the Docker images

Directus

docker pull directus/directus

Image on Docker Hub. Ports, volumes and environment variables differ per app; follow the official docs.

Frequently asked questions

Is Directus or MindsDB more popular?

They are close: Directus has 38,723 GitHub stars and MindsDB has 39,863 (as of 2026-11-15).

Which is more actively maintained, Directus or MindsDB?

Commits in the last 12 months: Directus 732, MindsDB 692. The last recorded activity was 2026-11-09 for Directus and 2026-10-23 for MindsDB. Releases in the past year: Directus 10+, MindsDB 10+. Our health labels: Directus is “Active”, MindsDB is “Active”.

What licenses do Directus and MindsDB use?

Directus: BUSL-1.1. MindsDB: Elastic-2.0. Note: Directus and MindsDB include a non-free license component.

Can I run Directus and MindsDB with Docker?

Directus has a Docker Hub image (directus/directus). We did not find one for MindsDB, though the upstream listing mentions Docker as a deployment option.

Read more

Directus

Instant App & API for your SQL Database. Directus wraps your new or existing SQL database with a realtime GraphQL+REST API for developers, and an intuitive admin app for non-technical users.

Active ★ 38.7k BUSL-1.1 🐳 Docker~$5/mo

MindsDB

AI layer for existing databases that allows you to effortlessly develop, train and deploy state-of-the-art machine learning models using standard queries.

Active ★ 39.9k Elastic-2.0 🐳 Docker~$5/mo

Browse all self-hosted Database Management apps.

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