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Business Intelligence · head to head

Glassbox vs Restate

Glassbox logo

Glassbox

Business Intelligence

Digital experience intelligence

From
On request
Free plan
No
Visit GlassboxFull 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

  • Glassbox is a digital experience intelligence platform.
  • Glassbox is free; Restate starts at $300/mo.
  • Only Glassbox lists session Replay; only Restate lists durable execution.
  • Where Glassbox falls short: no fixed pricing tiers published; custom quotes required based on package, data retention, and session volume.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Glassbox and Restate actually diverge.

Attributes where Glassbox and Restate differ
AttributeGlassboxRestate
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelSubscriptionPer month by durable action count
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, HybridLinux, macOS, Web
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDeveloper Tools

Not yet recorded: founded for Restate.

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 Glassbox

  • Session Replay
  • Struggle Detection
  • Journey Mapping
  • AI Insights
  • Voice of Customer
  • Adobe Analytics
  • Google Analytics
  • Salesforce

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.

Glassbox

  • User experience analysisnot Restate
  • Bug reproductionnot Restate
  • Conversion optimizationnot Restate
  • Customer journey mappingnot Restate
  • Usability testingnot Restate

Restate

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

Where each one falls short

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

Glassbox

  • No fixed pricing tiers published; custom quotes required based on package, data retention, and session volume

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

Glassbox

On request
  • CustomFree
    • Full Platform
    • Mobile Analytics
    • Enterprise Support

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 Glassbox if

  • You need session replay.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Hybrid.
  • You also want struggle detection.
Glassbox 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 Glassbox or Restate better?
Neither clearly leads. Glassbox starts at On request and Restate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Glassbox or Restate?
Restate has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Glassbox and Free for Restate.
Does Glassbox or Restate run on more platforms?
Glassbox runs on Web, iOS, Android, Hybrid. 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. Glassbox starts at On request.
What is Glassbox best used for?
Glassbox is most often used for user experience analysis, bug reproduction, conversion optimization, customer journey mapping. Of those, user experience analysis and bug reproduction are not what Restate is typically brought in for.
What can Glassbox do that Restate cannot?
Glassbox covers Session Replay, Struggle Detection, Journey Mapping, AI Insights. Restate covers Durable execution, Virtual objects, Single binary runtime, Multi-language SDKs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Glassbox: How much does Glassbox cost?

Glassbox uses custom pricing based on three factors: the selected package (Production Operation, Marketing/Business, or Product), data retention period, and session volume. The vendor encourages contacting sales to build customized packages.

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.

Glassbox: Does Glassbox offer add-ons for specific industries?

Yes, Glassbox offers specialized add-on solutions including fraud prevention, accessibility features, and call center solutions tailored for financial organizations.

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.

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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