# What is counted as a collection in Directus?

**URL:** <https://community.directus.com/t/what-is-counted-as-a-collection-in-directus/2452>\
**Category:** General\
**Tags:** collections\
**Created:** [August 7, 2026, 3:23pm UTC](https://community.directus.com/t/what-is-counted-as-a-collection-in-directus/2452 "2026-08-07T15:23:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Beth](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.directus.com/beth/32/30_2.png) [@Beth](https://community.directus.com/u/Beth)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2026, 3:23pm UTC](https://community.directus.com/t/what-is-counted-as-a-collection-in-directus/2452/1 "2026-08-07T15:23:50Z")

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Hey all, following the [what is counted as a user seat in Directus](https://community.directus.com/t/what-is-counted-as-a-user-seat-in-directus/2451) post, here is what is counted as a collection in Directus! I’m still sharing the definitions directly from the [key definitions](https://directus.com/docs/licensing/overview#key-definitions) which are in the docs licensing overview page:

A collection counts toward your limit if it is a user collection registered in Directus, meaning it has Directus metadata and appears in the Data Studio. (See **[Collections](https://directus.com/docs/guides/data-model/collections)** for the difference between user and system collections.)

Counted:

- User collections, whether created through the Data Studio, the API, or created in your database and then registered in Directus.
- Translation collections, such as **`articles_translations`**.
- Junction tables created for many-to-many and many-to-any relationships.

Not counted:

- System collections, which are prefixed with **`directus_`**.
- Folders, which group collections in the Data Model settings and are not tables.
- Database-only tables, which exist in your database but have no associated Directus metadata because they are not registered in Directus.

Translation collections and junction tables receive no special treatment: they are standard user-created tables, so each one counts as a collection. Account for them when you estimate your total.

🌻 We hope this helps and if you have any questions or feedback, let us know! Thanks all, Beth