I find the current licensing model really hard to justify from a practical standpoint.
In our experience, many customers end up choosing alternative systems - not because Directus isn’t great (it absolutely is), but because the annual licensing cost alone is simply too high. Even for companies with around $5M in funding per year, the jump in pricing feels disproportionate.
As a result, we’ve ended up using Directus primarily for smaller projects that fall well below the threshold. Which is a shame, because we genuinely like the product and would prefer to use it more broadly.
The core issue, in my opinion, is how pricing scales.
There are plenty of other open-source CMS options with paid models, but they typically scale in gradual, accessible steps. Paying $50 to $100 per month for a solid product is easy to justify. If usage increases, paying more also makes sense. But with Directus, the jump is from effectively nothing to $1k+ per month once a certain threshold is crossed - that’s a huge leap and a major barrier and deal breaker for most potential customers.
I understand that there are customers who are willing to pay at that level. But I’d argue that the majority of potential users - especially those running smaller or mid-sized projects - are not.
Another concern is tying the license cost to company funding or revenue. That model feels disconnected from actual product usage. In most software ecosystems, pricing is tied to how much you use the product - not how much money your company makes.
Think of tools like Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365, or GitHub: You don’t pay more because your company earns more - you pay more because you use more seats, storage or features.
A usage-based or seat-based model would feel much more natural, predictable and scalable - and furthermost more predictable for a potential customer. It would also lower the barrier for teams who want to adopt Directus more widely, instead of limiting it to edge cases or smaller projects.
Right now, the pricing structure makes it difficult to advocate for Directus internally, even when it’s technically the best fit - because other options currently are just way cheaper.