--- title: "Leiho vs Directus: headless CMS comparison" description: "Data platform that puts a no-code admin app and REST/GraphQL APIs on top of any SQL database. Leiho takes another route: your content stays in WordPress, and editors click the real page of your own front end to change it." url: https://leiho.dev/compare/directus lang: en updated: 2026-11-04 --- Compare # Leiho vs Directus Data platform that puts a no-code admin app and REST/GraphQL APIs on top of any SQL database. Leiho takes another route: your content stays in WordPress, and editors click the real page of your own front end to change it. | | Leiho | Directus | | --- | --- | --- | | Hosting | Your own WordPress, on any PHP host. Your front end stays wherever it is. | Both: self-hosted (Docker) or Directus Cloud. | | Open source | Yes, GPL-2.0-or-later (plugin and bridge). | Source-available Monospace Sustainable Core License 1.0 (MSCL-1.0-GPL; converts to GPL-3.0 after four years, restricts competing commercial use); free self-hosting under the Open Innovation Grant for organizations under $5M revenue and under 50 employees. | | Pricing | Free. No seats, no usage limits. | Free tier: no permanent cloud free tier (14-day trial); self-hosting free for eligible small organizations. Entry paid plan: Core, $89/month billed yearly or $99/month monthly (3 seats). | | Visual editing | Yes: editors click text and images on the real front end, inside wp-admin, and it updates as they type. | Yes: the Visual Editor module lets editors change content directly on the rendered website (front end adds a library and data-directus attributes). | | Content model | Leiho Collections (schema builder or leiho.schema.json), or your existing ACF fields. | UI (Data Model settings in Studio, mapped to real SQL tables; schema can also be managed via API). | | AI | Writing with your brand context on every text field, through WordPress’s own AI connectors (WordPress 7.0+). | AI Assistant (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini) on Core; AI translations and custom LLM on Enterprise. | | MCP server | Yes, through the official WordPress MCP Adapter: agents read content and write drafts only. | Yes, built-in remote MCP server at /mcp, Directus 11.12+. | | Localization | Built in, field by field: one entry holds every language, fields are translatable or shared, and AI or agents (MCP) translate what is missing. | Yes, translations field/interface built in. | | SEO and AI search | Built in: each collection maps its fields to schema.org, description and FAQ. Leiho serves JSON-LD, llms.txt and every page as Markdown, in every language. | Directus Labs SEO extension: meta templates, Open Graph image, search preview, sitemap settings. No JSON-LD generation. No llms.txt or Markdown output in the docs. | Checked on 5 November 2026 from each vendor’s site. Prices and plans change: follow the sources below. - Works on top of an existing SQL database without proprietary storage. - Built-in Flows automation and granular permissions. - Suitable for internal tools and data apps, not only website content. - Free and GPL for every site: no seats, plans or usage limits to watch. - Editors keep WordPress: their login, roles, media library and plugins. - Publishing follows your deployment, from a build hook to GitHub Actions or a self-hosted Coolify. ### Choose Directus if… Teams that want an admin UI and API over their own SQL database, for websites and back-office data alike. ### Choose Leiho if… Your team or your clients already know WordPress, you want them to edit the real page of a Next.js, Astro, Nuxt or SvelteKit site, and you’d rather not pay per seat or move content to a vendor’s cloud. ## Can I move from Directus to Leiho? There is no automatic importer from Directus. Leiho entries are WordPress posts, so content can be brought in with WordPress import tools or a script using Leiho’s PHP API. Your front-end components usually stay the same: only the data source and the annotations change. ## Do I need WordPress? Yes. Leiho is a WordPress plugin: WordPress stores the content and runs the back office. Any PHP host works, and your front end stays separate. Sources: [directus.com/pricing](https://directus.com/pricing) · [github.com/directus/directus/blob/main/l…](https://github.com/directus/directus/blob/main/license) · [directus.com/docs/guides/content/visual-ed…](https://directus.com/docs/guides/content/visual-editor) · [directus.com/docs/guides/ai/mcp](https://directus.com/docs/guides/ai/mcp) · [directus.com/extensions/@directus-labs/seo…](https://directus.com/extensions/@directus-labs/seo-plugin). Something out of date? [Tell us](https://github.com/pixelersagency/leiho/issues/new?title=Comparison%20update). Other comparisons - [**Leiho vs Sanity**](https://leiho.dev/compare/sanity) - [**Leiho vs Strapi**](https://leiho.dev/compare/strapi) - [**Leiho vs Contentful**](https://leiho.dev/compare/contentful) - [**Leiho vs Storyblok**](https://leiho.dev/compare/storyblok) - [**Leiho vs Payload CMS**](https://leiho.dev/compare/payload-cms) - [**Leiho vs Prismic**](https://leiho.dev/compare/prismic) - [**Leiho vs TinaCMS**](https://leiho.dev/compare/tinacms) - [**Leiho vs Builder.io**](https://leiho.dev/compare/builder-io) - [**Leiho vs Hygraph**](https://leiho.dev/compare/hygraph) - [**Leiho vs DatoCMS**](https://leiho.dev/compare/datocms) - [**Leiho vs Decap CMS**](https://leiho.dev/compare/decap-cms) - [**Leiho vs Keystatic**](https://leiho.dev/compare/keystatic) - [**Leiho vs Webflow (CMS)**](https://leiho.dev/compare/webflow) - [**Leiho vs Headless WordPress (ACF + WPGraphQL)**](https://leiho.dev/compare/wordpress-headless) ## Edit the real site. Free and open source. Try it on a real WordPress, in your browser. - [Try it in your browser](https://leiho.dev/try) - [View on GitHub](https://github.com/pixelersagency/leiho)