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Databases · head to head

Convex vs Restate

Convex logo

Convex

Databases

Reactive backend combining a document database, TypeScript server functions and live queries, source-available under the Functional Source Licence.

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit ConvexFull review
Restate logo

Restate

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit RestateFull review

The short version

  • Free plans on both; paid from $25/mo and $300/mo.
  • Only Convex lists reactive queries; only Restate lists durable execution.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Convex and Restate actually diverge.

Attributes where Convex and Restate differ
AttributeConvexRestate
Pricing modelSubscriptionPer month by durable action count
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Web
CategoryDatabasesDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).

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 Convex

  • Reactive queries
  • TypeScript server functions
  • ACID transactions
  • Document database
  • Scheduling and workflows
  • File storage
  • Text and vector search
  • End-to-end types

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.

Convex

  • Collaborative applications where several users see the same data and every client must reflect a change immediatelynot Restate
  • Agent backends that need durable state, scheduled work and transactional writes without assembling a queue, a database and a cachenot Restate
  • Small product teams who need a complete backend, including auth integration, file storage and subscriptions, without hiring infrastructure engineersnot Restate
  • Prototypes that must become production without a rewrite of the data layer, where end-to-end TypeScript types remove a class of integration bugsnot Restate

Restate

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

Where each one falls short

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

Convex

  • The Functional Source Licence is not an OSI open source licence: competing use is prohibited until each release reaches its second anniversary and converts to Apache 2.0, so you may self-host but you may not build a service on it
  • Transactions are bounded at one second of user code, 16 MiB read and written, 32,000 documents scanned and 16,000 written, so every backfill, migration or bulk import has to be chunked into scheduled batches rather than written as a single operation
  • There is no SQL and no query planner; you declare up to 32 indexes per table and traverse them, and joins are loops in TypeScript, so an unanticipated access pattern requires a schema and index change rather than a new query
  • It is not an analytical database, so reporting means streaming data out to a warehouse and BI tools cannot be pointed at Convex directly, which adds a pipeline the architecture diagram did not originally include
  • The application is written against Convex's function and client APIs rather than a standard protocol, so leaving means rewriting the data access layer and replacing the reactivity model, not repointing a connection string

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

Convex

Free
  • Free & StarterFree
    • Supports 1-6 developers
    • Reactive database
    • File storage
  • Professional$25
    • Supports up to 20 developers
    • All Starter features
    • Log streaming
  • Business & Enterprise$2,500/month minimum
    • Supports 50+ developers
    • SAML/SSO
    • Service SLAs

Restate

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Fifty thousand durable actions per month
    • No credit card required
    • Community support
  • Starter$300/mo
    • Twenty million actions per month
    • Two hundred actions per second, bursting to one thousand
    • Twenty GB storage
  • Pro$1,000/mo
    • Fifty million actions per month
    • Five hundred actions per second, bursting to two thousand
    • Fifty GB storage
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Negotiated volume
    • Twenty-four seven P0 support
    • 99.99 per cent SLA

Which should you pick?

Choose Convex if

  • You need reactive queries.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want typescript server functions.
Convex 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 Convex or Restate better?
Neither clearly leads. Convex 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, Convex or Restate?
Convex starts at Free and Restate at Free.
Does Convex or Restate run on more platforms?
Convex runs on Web. Restate runs on Linux, macOS, Web.
Can I use Convex for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Convex best used for?
Convex is most often used for collaborative applications where several users see the same data and every client must reflect a change immediately, agent backends that need durable state, scheduled work and transactional writes without assembling a queue, a database and a cache, small product teams who need a complete backend, including auth integration, file storage and subscriptions, without hiring infrastructure engineers, prototypes that must become production without a rewrite of the data layer, where end-to-end typescript types remove a class of integration bugs. Of those, collaborative applications where several users see the same data and every client must reflect a change immediately and agent backends that need durable state, scheduled work and transactional writes without assembling a queue, a database and a cache are not what Restate is typically brought in for.
What can Convex do that Restate cannot?
Convex covers Reactive queries, TypeScript server functions, ACID transactions, Document database. Restate covers Durable execution, Virtual objects, Single binary runtime, Multi-language SDKs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Convex: Is Convex open source?

It is source-available under FSL-1.1-Apache-2.0. You may read, modify and self-host it, but competing use is prohibited until each release converts to Apache 2.0 on its second anniversary.

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.

Convex: Can I self-host it?

Yes. The backend, dashboard and CLI can run on your own infrastructure, with most of the features of the cloud product. Self-hosted instances include a telemetry beacon that can be disabled.

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.

Convex: Does it support SQL?

No. Data is accessed through a TypeScript query builder over declared indexes. Relationships are traversed in code, which is explicit and type-safe but means no ad hoc querying.

Restate: Is there a free tier?

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

Convex: What happens if a mutation exceeds the limits?

It fails rather than running longer, so bulk work must be split into batches and scheduled. The limits are per transaction: one second of user code, 16 MiB read and written, 32,000 documents scanned and 16,000 written.

Restate: Which languages are supported?

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

Convex: How does reactivity actually work?

Queries are deterministic functions and Convex records the data each one read. When a mutation changes that data, affected queries are re-run and subscribed clients receive the new result, so cache invalidation is handled by the platform.

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