NoBull SaaS

What does Directus do?

Tool: Directus

The Tech: Backend-as-a-Service

Visit site →

Their Pitch

Create, manage, and scale headless content.

Our Take

It's a backend generator that turns your existing database into instant APIs and admin dashboards. No more spending weeks building user authentication and CRUD operations from scratch.

Deep Dive & Reality Check

Used For

  • +**Your SaaS needs user roles and team-scoped data access** → Connect your database, set permissions once, users automatically see only their team's stuff
  • +**You're building the same auth/CRUD endpoints for the 50th time** → Directus mirrors your tables and generates REST/GraphQL APIs automatically
  • +**Your content team needs to edit data but keeps breaking things in the database** → They get a no-code dashboard while you keep full SQL control
  • +Real-time updates via WebSockets - changes sync instantly across all connected apps without polling
  • +Visual workflow builder - trigger webhooks or run JavaScript when data changes, no cron jobs needed

Best For

  • >Side project stuck at 60% done - boilerplate code after work is soul-crushing
  • >Your startup needs user management and team permissions but you'd rather build features customers see
  • >You've got an existing database and need APIs without hiring a backend developer

Not For

  • -Teams without an existing SQL database - you'll spend 2-4 hours setting one up first, defeating the speed advantage
  • -Non-technical teams with no developers - someone needs to handle the initial setup and ongoing schema changes
  • -High-traffic apps expecting 10k+ concurrent users - the free self-hosted version crashes without serious tuning

Pairs With

  • *MySQL or PostgreSQL (your actual database that Directus sits on top of)
  • *Vue.js or React (for the frontend you still have to build, connected via Directus SDK)
  • *Stripe (for billing and subscriptions while Directus handles user accounts and permissions)
  • *Docker (if self-hosting, because nobody wants to manage Node.js dependencies manually)
  • *Vercel or Netlify (to deploy your frontend that talks to Directus APIs)
  • *Zapier (to connect Directus webhooks to tools it doesn't integrate with natively)

The Catch

  • !Setting up granular permissions is fiddly - expect 30-60 minutes of copy-pasting rules for complex role-based access
  • !You still need to build your own frontend - this just handles the backend, which frustrates people expecting a complete app
  • !Cloud pricing hits fast with API overages - users report $50+ extra monthly after hitting 200k calls during testing

Bottom Line

Takes your SQL database and spits out a complete backend in an hour instead of weeks of boilerplate coding.