Head to head

Brilliant Directories vs Directorist: features and cost compared.

Brilliant Directories: A hosted directory builder with a monthly plan and add-ons at $10 a month each, against a hosted directory platform with them built in. Directorist: A WordPress directory plugin with a yearly membership for its extensions, on hosting you run, against a hosted directory platform. Here they are side by side, feature by feature, from their own websites, with Yclas as a third option.

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Last checked: 22 October 2026. Facts about other products come from their own websites; the sources are listed at the end of this page.

Feature by feature

Brilliant Directories and Directorist, side by side.

Not offeredNeeds a developerPaid add-onPartlyIncluded

Feature	Brilliant Directories	Directorist	Yclas
AI page builder	Partly AI creator tools write pages, emails and SEO content; BD Butler builds page sections from a prompt [1]	Not offered No AI page builder; WordPress page builders are separate [2]	Describe a change, such as "darker hero, bigger search, rounder cards", and the AI makes it in a draft you preview. 109 ready-made looks and drag-and-drop sections.
AI sets up your site	Partly An AI directory site builder is listed; categories and content are set up by hand [1]	Included Directorist AI builds the directory's structure and fields from a prompt (price not stated) [3]	Say what your marketplace is for and the AI writes your categories, subcategories, tagline and About page in your language. Live in about two minutes.
AI listing from a photo	Not offered Not listed [1]	Not offered Not listed [4]	Sellers add a photo; the AI writes the title, description and price, and picks the category and fields.
AI search	Not offered Not listed [5]	Included AI Search extension: matches by meaning [6]	Visitors search the way they talk, such as "red bike under 300 near Valencia", and get the right filters.
AI scam and spam checks	Not offered Not listed; post moderation is by hand [5]	Not offered Not listed; reCAPTCHA and reports only [2]	Every new listing is checked against your rules for scams, prohibited items, spam and wrong categories. Risky ones wait in your queue with the reason, and buyers are warned when a message asks for gift cards or off-site payment.
Automatic listing translation	Paid add-on Google Website Translator add-on, $10 a month: the front end only [7]	Not offered Translation by hand with WPML, Polylang or Loco [2]	On multilingual sites each listing is translated into every site language, with its own page for search engines (Professional plan).
AI suggested replies	Not offered Not listed [1]	Not offered Not listed [4]	The AI drafts a seller's reply from the listing and the conversation; the seller edits and sends it.
AI review summary and Ask	Not offered Not listed [1]	Not offered Not listed [4]	"What people say" from each listing's reviews, and visitors ask a question and get an answer from the listing and its reviews
AI drafts of review replies	Not offered Not listed [1]	Not offered Not listed [4]	The business gets a reply in the review's language and the tone it picks, and edits it before posting
AI text for category and city pages	Included AI creator tools include SEO content [1]	Not offered Not listed [4]	A search title, description and intro for each "plumbers in Dallas" page, which you edit before saving
Opening hours and "Open now"	Partly A text field for opening hours; no "open now" status listed [8]	Partly Business Hours extension: Open now badge and filter; special days not listed [9]	Weekly hours, holidays and special days, an Open now badge and an Open now filter in search
Several locations per business	Paid add-on Multi-Location Listings add-on, $10 a month: one member in several service areas [10]	Not offered Not listed [4]	A business adds its other branches with address and phone; they show on its listing and the map
Business details	Included Custom fields in the listing forms [11]	Included Custom fields, listing types and listing FAQs [12]	Services and price list, social links, attributes such as wheelchair access or women-owned, and your own custom fields per category
Events	Paid add-on Events calendar included; recurring events and "Add to calendar" are $10-a-month add-ons [13]	Partly Event tickets through the Booking extension; recurring events and a calendar not listed [14]	Event dates, weekly, monthly or yearly repeats, a calendar of the month and "Add to calendar" for each event
Compare listings	Not offered Not listed [5]	Included Compare Listings extension [4]	Visitors put up to 4 listings side by side
Claim your business	Partly Claimable Business Listings: included on the $40 to $120 plans, else $10 a month; the business claims by choosing a plan; how it is verified is not stated [15]	Included Claim Listing extension: you approve claims, free or paid [16]	By a code sent to an address at the business's own domain, a code texted to its phone (with an SMS add-on), or your review; optionally only with a paid plan
Fill your directory with real businesses	Included Instant Business Data: 100 records on the monthly plan, more in credit packs; CSV import of members [17]	Partly CSV import, and Google Places with your own API key [18]	Open business data from Overture Maps included in your plan each month, CSV import, Google Places with your own key, and lists pasted and sorted by AI
Paid listing levels	Included Unlimited membership plans with upgrades [1]	Included Pricing Plans extension: packages or pay per listing, recurring [19]	Plans you sell to businesses, each with its own number of photos and deals, statistics, a badge and members-only content (Professional plan)
Featured listings and paid categories	Included Featured listings and pinned posts [5]	Included Paid featured listings [12]	Featured listings, bump to top, boost bundles, paid categories and coupons, paid into your own account
Sponsored results	Partly Featured upsells and a Highlight Member Results add-on; no sponsored places above results [5]	Partly Featured listings ranked first; no sponsored places [2]	Businesses buy a sponsored place above a category's results for a number of days
Banner ads you sell	Included Banner ad management [1]	Partly Ads Manager places your ads in zones; advertisers can't buy them themselves [20]	Advertisers buy a banner zone for some weeks, you approve it, and they see its views and clicks
Deals with vouchers	Not offered Coupon codes on plan payments only ($10 a month); no deals on listings [21]	Partly Coupon extension: discount codes on plans and bookings; no deals on listings [22]	Offers on listings and a Deals page; each customer gets a voucher with a QR code the business scans to mark it used, with a report of vouchers given and used
Charge businesses for leads	Included Sell leads to members; prices by category through a $10-a-month add-on [23]	Included Pay Per Lead extension: owners pay to see the inquiry [24]	Per lead, or a number of leads included in their plan
Bookings	Not offered Not listed [5]	Partly Booking extension: reservations and appointments; online payment not stated [14]	Appointments and rentals with a calendar and instant booking (Professional plan); paid online with deposits on the Marketplace plan
Reviews with owner replies	Paid add-on Star reviews included; Reply to Member Reviews is a $10-a-month add-on [25]	Included Reviews, with replies as a setting [26]	Star reviews with photos and ratings by criteria, and the business replies under each one
Review invitations	Not offered Not listed [5]	Not offered Not listed [4]	The business emails customers a personal review link, or prints a QR poster for the counter
Rating badge and yearly awards	Not offered Not listed [5]	Not offered Not listed [4]	A badge with the listing's stars for the business's own website, and "Best of" awards for the top-rated each year
Fake-review protection	Not offered Not listed [5]	Partly Visitors report reviews to you; no automatic checks [27]	Reviews that look bought or self-written wait for your team, and you can put a consumer alert on a listing
Verified and licensed badges	Partly You set a member as Verified by hand, which shows a badge [28]	Partly A "claimed" mark after a claim; other badges from a third party [2]	ID and business document checks, and Licensed and Insured badges from the documents a business sends
Quote requests to the nearest businesses	Paid add-on Automatic Lead Matching add-on, $10 a month, to up to 1,500 matching members [29]	Not offered Not listed: each inquiry goes to one listing [24]	One request goes to the closest matching businesses, and listings show how fast each one usually replies
Messages	Included Member messaging included [1]	Included Live Chat extension [4]	Visitors and businesses write to each other inside the site, with photos and PDFs
Statistics for each business	Paid add-on Member Profile Analytics: included on the $120 Pro plan, else $10 a month; call clicks with Click-to-Call, another $10; no monthly report [30]	Partly Analytics extension for the site owner; no view for each business, no monthly report [31]	Views, calls, website, WhatsApp and directions clicks and the searches that found each listing, and a monthly report by email
Newsletters and automated emails	Included Broadcasts, drip campaigns, autoresponders and open and click tracking [1]	Partly Mailchimp integration only [4]	One-off newsletters, and email series after signing up, a first listing or going quiet, with opens and clicks per email, sent through your own email service
Category and city pages for search	Included SEO URLs, structured data, sitemaps and SEO pages for search results [1]	Partly Structured data and meta titles; works with Yoast and Rank Math [2]	A page for every category in every city, with your own title and intro, LocalBusiness structured data, sitemaps and IndexNow
Maps and "near me"	Included Search by radius; Google map results through an add-on [32]	Included Google Maps or OpenStreetMap, radius and near-me search [12]	OpenStreetMap with no API key, or Google Maps; search the area on the map, by distance or near the visitor
Many languages	Partly Only the Google Website Translator add-on; languages and right-to-left not listed [7]	Partly Ready for translation, right-to-left; several languages with WPML [2]	44 languages, right-to-left included; several at once on a multilingual site (Professional plan)
Your own iPhone app	Partly "App-ready for Android and iOS"; customer apps come from a third party [1]	Paid add-on Android and iOS app, $499 a year [33]	Your directory as a branded app on the App Store, with push notifications, published for you (Marketplace plan)
API, webhooks and MCP	Included API, webhooks and MCP on its Builder and Pro plans; Zapier [34]	Partly REST API; webhooks and Zapier not yet [35]	An API on every plan, webhooks for Zapier and Make (Professional) and an MCP server for AI assistants (Marketplace)
Hosting, SSL, updates and backups	Included Hosting, daily backups and updates included [1]	Not offered Not included: you run WordPress hosting, updates and backups [12]	Included in every plan, with support
Members-only content	Included Members-only content and paywalls (Builder and Pro plans) [34]	Included Private directory items for chosen users [2]	Pages and listing details only members on a plan can see (Professional plan)

Cost

A working site in year one.

Brilliant Directories, year one	About $2,304
Directorist, year one	$129 + hosting
Yclas Starter, year one	$678

When Brilliant Directories is the better choice

Your directory is mainly a paid membership community with members-only areas and content.
Selling leads to many members at once is your main business, and you want its lead-matching portal.
You want a lifetime plan with a single payment.

When Directorist is the better choice

Your site already runs on WordPress and you want the directory inside it.
You want WordPress plugins and page builders such as Elementor, or your own hosting.
You run many small directories and want one licence for all of them.

Questions

Questions people ask

Yclas vs Brilliant Directories Yclas vs Directorist

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Which is cheaper, Brilliant Directories or Directorist?

In our counts, a working site costs About $2,304 in year one with Brilliant Directories and $129 + hosting with Directorist. Each comparison page lists the lines that make up the total.

Which includes more, Brilliant Directories or Directorist?

Of the 40 features compared here, Brilliant Directories includes 14 (or as a free add-on) and Directorist includes 12. Yclas includes all of them.

Is there a third option?

Yes: Yclas is hosted, with every feature in this table built in, a 15-day free trial and no credit card.

Sources

Checked on 22 October 2026. Prices change: the vendor's own page is always the latest word. If something here is out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.

Product names belong to their owners and are used only to identify the products compared. Yclas is not affiliated with them.

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