Directus vs Split Forms
Pricing
Directus: Free self-hosted, cloud from $15/mo
Split Forms: Free (500 submissions in total), Pro $5/mo (5,000/mo), Annual $49/yr (15,000/mo)
Description
Directus: Open-source headless CMS and backend-as-a-service that wraps any SQL database with a REST and GraphQL API
Split Forms: Hosted form backend: point any HTML or framework form at one endpoint and each submission is spam-filtered, saved to a dashboard and emailed to you
Pros
- Works with existing SQL databases without migration
- Visual admin panel for non-technical content management
- Self-hostable for free under MIT license
- Works on any site, from plain HTML to Next.js, Astro, Webflow or WordPress, by changing the form's action URL and adding an access key, with no SDK or server code
- Spam filtering on every plan uses a honeypot, a time-trap and per-IP rate limits, shows no CAPTCHA by default and keeps flagged entries in a spam folder you can review
- Pro costs $5 a month for 5,000 submissions and adds signed webhooks, Google Sheets, Notion and Airtable syncs, file uploads and Stripe payments on forms
Cons
- Revenue threshold requires a paid license for self-hosted (over $5M/yr)
- More CMS-oriented, less suited for complex application logic
- The free plan is 500 submissions in total, not a monthly allowance
- Webhooks, integrations and file uploads are paid features, and files attached on the free plan are dropped
- There is no contractual uptime SLA, and EU data residency is not offered yet
Details
Directus is an open-source data platform that layers a real-time API and intuitive admin app on top of any SQL database. It supports REST and GraphQL out of the box, with granular role-based access control and built-in file storage. Ideal for solo founders who need a content backend with a visual dashboard, or who want to expose an existing database as an API without rewriting anything.
Split Forms receives the submissions from a form you build yourself. You set the form’s action to https://splitforms.com/api/submit and add a hidden access key, and every entry is filtered for spam, stored in a dashboard and sent to you by email. It accepts URL-encoded, multipart and JSON bodies, so the same endpoint works for a static page, a JavaScript app or a site made with an AI builder.
It suits a founder who has a website and wants its contact, waitlist or order form to work without running a server or SMTP. Paid plans can forward each submission to Slack, Discord, Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable or any signed webhook, accept file uploads and send submitters to Stripe Checkout. Every plan, including Free, includes an MCP server with 12 tools that ChatGPT, Claude and coding agents can use to create forms and read submissions.
The free plan gives 500 submissions in total with unlimited forms and no card. Pro costs $5 a month for 5,000 submissions a month, and Annual costs $49 a year for 15,000 a month with 5 GB of file storage. Split Forms is operated by TownMediaLabs, and its founder is Raman Makkar.
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