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Web Development · head to head

Carrd vs Restate

Carrd logo

Carrd

Web Development

Ultra-affordable one-page site builder.

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Restate logo

Restate

Developer Tools

Durable execution engine in Rust with a free tier and low-latency workflows

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Carrd free tier strictly limited to 3 sites; any additional sites require upgrading to Pro; Restate the runtime is under a Business Source Licence rather than an open source licence, so building a competing managed offering on it is prohibited and some procurement functions will reject it on licence grounds alone.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Carrd and Restate actually diverge.

Attributes where Carrd and Restate differ
AttributeCarrdRestate
Pricing modelfreemiumPer month by durable action count
PlatformsWeb, MobileLinux, macOS, Web
CategoryWeb DevelopmentDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Carrd

Nothing recorded that Restate does not also cover.

Only in Restate

  • Durable execution
  • Virtual objects
  • Single binary runtime
  • Multi-language SDKs
  • Workflows and sagas
  • Restate Cloud

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Carrd

  • Indie makers and solopreneurs building personal portfolios or landing pagesnot Restate
  • Small business owners requiring minimal online presence at low costnot Restate
  • Link-in-bio alternatives for social media profiles and contact pagesnot Restate
  • Email capture pages for newsletters or lead magnetsnot Restate
  • Cost-conscious teams requiring a cheap website alternative to Webflow or Squarespacenot Restate

Restate

  • Payment or order flows where a crash between two external API calls must not double-charge or lose the ordernot Carrd
  • AI agent loops that call tools over minutes or hours and must survive a deployment mid-runnot Carrd
  • Replacing hand-rolled retry, idempotency key and outbox code across a set of microservicesnot Carrd
  • A small team that wants durable workflows without operating a Temporal cluster and its databasenot Carrd

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Carrd

  • Free tier strictly limited to 3 sites; any additional sites require upgrading to Pro
  • Pro plan includes Carrd branding removal but still lacks advanced features (e-commerce, multi-step funnels, complex forms)
  • Single-page design only; does not support multi-page websites or complex site structures
  • Limited template library compared to competitors like Leadpages or Unbounce
  • Annual payment required for Pro tier; no monthly payment option
  • No native A/B testing, analytics dashboard or conversion optimisation tools built-in

Restate

  • The runtime is under a Business Source Licence rather than an open source licence, so building a competing managed offering on it is prohibited and some procurement functions will reject it on licence grounds alone.
  • Restate Cloud jumps from a free fifty thousand actions straight to 300 US dollars a month for twenty million, so a workload sitting at a few hundred thousand actions pays enterprise-shaped money for hobby-shaped volume.
  • It is a young project against Temporal’s established base, so hiring engineers who already know it is unrealistic and the answer to most questions is in the docs rather than on Stack Overflow.
  • The programming model requires structuring code around durable handlers and virtual objects, which is a genuine rewrite for existing services rather than a library you add.
  • The single-binary simplicity that makes small deployments cheap also means fewer operational knobs at very large scale than a system designed as separable components.

Pricing, plan by plan

Carrd

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 3 sites
    • Responsive design
    • Templates and blank pages
  • Pro$19/year
    • Unlimited sites
    • Custom domain with SSL
    • Contact forms

Restate

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Fifty thousand durable actions per month
    • No credit card required
    • Community support
  • Starter$300/month
    • Twenty million actions per month
    • Two hundred actions per second, bursting to one thousand
    • Twenty GB storage
  • Pro$1000/month
    • Fifty million actions per month
    • Five hundred actions per second, bursting to two thousand
    • Fifty GB storage
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Negotiated volume
    • Twenty-four seven P0 support
    • 99.99 per cent SLA

Which should you pick?

Choose Carrd if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
Carrd review

Choose Restate if

  • You need durable execution.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Web.
  • You also want virtual objects.
Restate review

Questions people ask

Is Carrd or Restate better?
Neither clearly leads. Carrd starts at Free and Restate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Carrd or Restate?
Carrd starts at Free and Restate at Free.
Does Carrd or Restate run on more platforms?
Carrd runs on Web, Mobile. Restate runs on Linux, macOS, Web.
Can I use Carrd for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Carrd best used for?
Carrd is most often used for indie makers and solopreneurs building personal portfolios or landing pages, small business owners requiring minimal online presence at low cost, link-in-bio alternatives for social media profiles and contact pages, email capture pages for newsletters or lead magnets. Of those, indie makers and solopreneurs building personal portfolios or landing pages and small business owners requiring minimal online presence at low cost are not what Restate is typically brought in for.
What can Carrd do that Restate cannot?
Restate covers Durable execution, Virtual objects, Single binary runtime, Multi-language SDKs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Carrd: How much does Carrd cost?

Carrd is free for up to 3 sites. The Pro plan costs $19/year and enables unlimited sites with custom domains, forms and integrations.

Source
Restate: Is Restate open source?

The SDKs are MIT. The runtime is under a Business Source Licence, which permits self-hosting but not offering it as a competing service.

Carrd: Can I use Carrd for e-commerce?

Carrd's Pro plan supports payment forms with Stripe integration, but it is not a full e-commerce platform. Single-product sales or payment collection is possible, but inventory management and complex product catalogs are not supported.

Source
Restate: How does it compare with Temporal?

Same problem, different shape: one Rust binary with embedded storage instead of a server plus database plus workers, and lower per-step latency.

Carrd: Can I create multi-page websites with Carrd?

No. Carrd is designed for single-page sites only. For multi-page websites, you would need to use a full website builder like Webflow or Squarespace.

Source
Restate: Is there a free tier?

Yes, fifty thousand durable actions a month on Restate Cloud with no card required.

Restate: Which languages are supported?

TypeScript, Java, Kotlin, Go, Python and Rust.

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