Traditional lithium extraction methods are time-consuming and energy-intensive, often leaving a large environmental footprint due to significant freshwater consumption. However, direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies offer a more efficient and sustainable alternative. DLE can reduce the production time and energy consumption of the overall system, leading to lower costs. This technology is especially promising for extracting lithium from low-concentration brine such as seawater, which contains 8000 times more lithium than land sources. With global demand for lithium expected to reach a third of commercially available land-brine reserves by 2050, DLE’s potential to tap into the vast ocean reserves is crucial. Numerous organizations and developers are working to develop and refine new DLE systems to meet the growing demand for lithium, while others are working on integrating various DLE technologies to create more advanced and efficient systems to enhance extraction efficiency, product quality, and cost-effectiveness. In this review, we assess DLE’s commercial potential, providing an overview of the technology and examining current commercially deployed systems.