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Cybersecurity · head to head

Entrust Identity as a Service vs Restate

Entrust Identity as a Service logo

Entrust Identity as a Service

Cybersecurity

Workforce and customer authentication from a certificate authority

From
$2/month
Free plan
No
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

  • Only Restate has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Entrust Identity as a Service the application integration catalogue is smaller than that of the dedicated identity vendors, so uncommon SaaS applications more often need custom SAML configuration rather than a template.; 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.
  • They diverge on capability: Entrust Identity as a Service covers Multi-factor authentication, Restate covers Durable execution.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Entrust Identity as a Service and Restate actually diverge.

Attributes where Entrust Identity as a Service and Restate differ
AttributeEntrust Identity as a ServiceRestate
Starting price$2/monthFree
Pricing modelPer user per monthPer month by durable action count
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, Windows, LinuxLinux, macOS, Web
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: 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 Entrust Identity as a Service

  • Multi-factor authentication
  • Single sign-on
  • Adaptive authentication
  • Passwordless login
  • Credential lifecycle
  • Derived PIV credentials
  • Directory integration

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.

Entrust Identity as a Service

  • A government agency needing derived mobile credentials from an existing PIV smart card estatenot Restate
  • A bank that must support hardware tokens for corporate treasury users alongside push authentication for staffnot Restate
  • An organisation already buying Entrust certificates that wants credential issuance and authentication from one vendornot Restate
  • A defence supplier required to use certificate-based authentication that mainstream cloud identity products handle poorlynot Restate

Restate

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

Where each one falls short

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

Entrust Identity as a Service

  • The application integration catalogue is smaller than that of the dedicated identity vendors, so uncommon SaaS applications more often need custom SAML configuration rather than a template.
  • Developer experience for customer identity use cases is behind the specialists, and teams building consumer signup flows will find the APIs and documentation less complete.
  • Advanced capabilities including adaptive authentication and credential management sit above the published entry price, so the two dollar figure rarely reflects what a regulated buyer actually spends.
  • There are two overlapping products, Identity as a Service and Identity Enterprise, and choosing wrongly at the start means a migration later rather than a licence change.
  • Identity governance, access certification and privileged access are not covered, so an organisation with audit-driven access review requirements needs a second vendor alongside it.

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

Entrust Identity as a Service

$2/month
  • Workforce Standard$2/month
    • Multi-factor authentication
    • Single sign-on
    • Directory integration
  • Higher tiers$undefined/month
    • Adaptive risk-based authentication
    • Certificate and smart card credential management
    • Derived PIV credentials

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 Entrust Identity as a Service if

  • You need multi-factor authentication.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, Linux.
  • You also want single sign-on.
Entrust Identity as a Service 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 Entrust Identity as a Service or Restate better?
Neither clearly leads. Entrust Identity as a Service starts at $2/month and Restate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Entrust Identity as a Service or Restate?
Restate has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2/month for Entrust Identity as a Service and Free for Restate.
Does Entrust Identity as a Service or Restate run on more platforms?
Entrust Identity as a Service runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, Linux. Restate runs on Linux, macOS, Web.
Can I use Restate for free?
Yes. Restate has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Entrust Identity as a Service starts at $2/month.
What is Entrust Identity as a Service best used for?
Entrust Identity as a Service is most often used for a government agency needing derived mobile credentials from an existing piv smart card estate, a bank that must support hardware tokens for corporate treasury users alongside push authentication for staff, an organisation already buying entrust certificates that wants credential issuance and authentication from one vendor, a defence supplier required to use certificate-based authentication that mainstream cloud identity products handle poorly. Of those, a government agency needing derived mobile credentials from an existing piv smart card estate and a bank that must support hardware tokens for corporate treasury users alongside push authentication for staff are not what Restate is typically brought in for.
What can Entrust Identity as a Service do that Restate cannot?
Entrust Identity as a Service covers Multi-factor authentication, Single sign-on, Adaptive authentication, Passwordless login. Restate covers Durable execution, Virtual objects, Single binary runtime, Multi-language SDKs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Entrust Identity as a Service: Is MFA included or extra?

Multi-factor authentication is included in the workforce bundles rather than sold separately, which is not true of every competitor. Adaptive risk-based authentication sits in higher tiers.

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.

Entrust Identity as a Service: Does it do identity governance?

No. Access certification, role mining and joiner-mover-leaver governance require a separate product such as SailPoint or Saviynt.

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.

Entrust Identity as a Service: Why choose this over Okta or Entra ID?

Almost always because of PKI, smart cards or derived credentials. Without that requirement the mainstream platforms are the stronger general purpose choice.

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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