Developer Tools · head to head
HCP Terraform vs Restate
HCP Terraform
Developer Tools
Infrastructure as code provisioning and management, formerly Terraform Cloud
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Restate
Developer Tools
Durable execution engine in Rust with a free tier and low-latency workflows
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: HCP Terraform legacy free version deprecated; no current freemium tier; 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 HCP Terraform and Restate actually diverge.
| Attribute | HCP Terraform | Restate |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | usage-based | Per month by durable action count |
| Platforms | Web | Linux, macOS, Web |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Developer Tools).
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 HCP Terraform
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.
HCP Terraform
- Infrastructure as Code managementnot Restate
- Cloud resource provisioningnot Restate
Restate
- Payment or order flows where a crash between two external API calls must not double-charge or lose the ordernot HCP Terraform
- AI agent loops that call tools over minutes or hours and must survive a deployment mid-runnot HCP Terraform
- Replacing hand-rolled retry, idempotency key and outbox code across a set of microservicesnot HCP Terraform
- A small team that wants durable workflows without operating a Temporal cluster and its databasenot HCP Terraform
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
HCP Terraform
- Legacy free version deprecated; no current freemium tier
- New users receive $500 credit but still require usage to continue service
- Terraform Enterprise requires custom pricing
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
HCP Terraform
Free- Essentials$0.1/month
- Per resource pricing
- Remote state storage
- VCS connection
- Standard$0.47/month
- Per resource pricing
- Essentials features plus unlimited modules
- Module deprecation
- Premium$0.99/month
- Per resource pricing
- Standard features plus module revocation
- Waypoint actions
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 Restate if
- You need durable execution.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, macOS, Web.
- You also want virtual objects.
Questions people ask
- Is HCP Terraform or Restate better?
- Neither clearly leads. HCP Terraform 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, HCP Terraform or Restate?
- HCP Terraform starts at Free and Restate at Free.
- Does HCP Terraform or Restate run on more platforms?
- HCP Terraform runs on Web. Restate runs on Linux, macOS, Web.
- Can I use HCP Terraform for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is HCP Terraform best used for?
- HCP Terraform is most often used for infrastructure as code management, cloud resource provisioning. Of those, infrastructure as code management and cloud resource provisioning are not what Restate is typically brought in for.
- What can HCP Terraform do that Restate cannot?
- Restate covers Durable execution, Virtual objects, Single binary runtime, Multi-language SDKs.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
HCP Terraform: How much does HCP Terraform cost?
HCP Terraform uses per-resource pricing starting at $0.10/month/resource for Essentials, $0.47/month/resource for Standard, and $0.99/month/resource for Premium.
SourceRestate: 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.
HCP Terraform: Does HCP Terraform offer a free tier?
No, the legacy free version has been deprecated. However, new users receive $500 credit to try the service.
SourceRestate: 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.
HCP Terraform: What does the Standard plan include?
Standard plan at $0.47/month/resource includes unlimited modules, module deprecation, team notifications, no-code provisioning, and Waypoint templates.
SourceRestate: 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.
Related pages
More on HCP Terraform
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