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Databases · head to head

Knack vs Restate

Knack logo

Knack

Databases

Hosted no-code database and web app builder priced by stored records and storage, with unlimited user accounts on every plan.

From
$59/month
Free plan
No
Visit KnackFull 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

  • Restate has a free plan, then $300/mo; Knack starts at $59/mo.
  • Only Knack lists visual database builder; 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 Knack and Restate actually diverge.

Attributes where Knack and Restate differ
AttributeKnackRestate
Starting price$59/monthFree
Pricing modelSubscriptionPer month by durable action count
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Web
CategoryDatabasesDeveloper 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 Knack

  • Visual database builder
  • User logins and roles
  • Page builder
  • Unlimited users
  • E-commerce
  • Automation flows
  • Scheduled tasks
  • REST API and webhooks

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.

Knack

  • A member or client portal where thousands of external people need their own login and see only their own recordsnot Restate
  • Replacing a shared spreadsheet used by a team that has outgrown it but cannot justify a developer to build a bespoke internal toolnot Restate
  • Inventory, asset or case tracking for a small operations team that needs roles, forms and a record of who changed whatnot Restate
  • A registration or booking application for an association, school or non-profit where the user count is large and the record count stays modestnot Restate

Restate

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

Where each one falls short

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

Knack

  • Plans are capped by stored records, so an application that logs events or keeps history rather than current state climbs tiers on data volume alone, and archiving old records becomes a permanent maintenance chore rather than a one-off
  • API access is capped per day, at 1,000 calls on the entry plan and 10,000 at the Corporate tier, so a scheduled sync or a busy automation can exhaust the day's quota before the working day ends and integrations then fail silently
  • The application itself cannot be exported or self-hosted; records can be downloaded but the pages, roles, flows and business logic exist only inside Knack, so outgrowing the platform means rebuilding the app rather than moving it
  • Customisation beyond the builder is limited to injected CSS and JavaScript that Knack's support does not cover, so any non-standard interface behaviour becomes yours to maintain against a DOM the vendor can change without warning
  • Compliance capabilities that regulated buyers assume are baseline, HIPAA and GovCloud options, advanced SSO, IP restrictions and private environments, are gated to the Corporate and Enterprise tiers, so a small regulated pilot cannot legitimately start on an entry plan

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

Knack

$59/month
  • Starter$59/mo
    • 20,000 database records
    • Unlimited users, tables, fields
    • 25 AI credits
  • Pro$130/mo
    • 50,000 database records
    • Remove Knack branding
    • E-commerce payments
  • Corporate$300/mo
    • 125,000-2.5M database records
    • App restore functionality
    • Advanced SSO
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Dedicated account manager
    • HIPAA/GovCloud-based options
    • Custom pricing

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 Knack if

  • You need visual database builder.
  • You also want user logins and roles.
Knack 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 Knack or Restate better?
Neither clearly leads. Knack starts at $59/month and Restate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Knack or Restate?
Restate has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $59/month for Knack and Free for Restate.
Does Knack or Restate run on more platforms?
Knack runs on Web. 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. Knack starts at $59/month.
What is Knack best used for?
Knack is most often used for a member or client portal where thousands of external people need their own login and see only their own records, replacing a shared spreadsheet used by a team that has outgrown it but cannot justify a developer to build a bespoke internal tool, inventory, asset or case tracking for a small operations team that needs roles, forms and a record of who changed what, a registration or booking application for an association, school or non-profit where the user count is large and the record count stays modest. Of those, a member or client portal where thousands of external people need their own login and see only their own records and replacing a shared spreadsheet used by a team that has outgrown it but cannot justify a developer to build a bespoke internal tool are not what Restate is typically brought in for.
What can Knack do that Restate cannot?
Knack covers Visual database builder, User logins and roles, Page builder, Unlimited users. Restate covers Durable execution, Virtual objects, Single binary runtime, Multi-language SDKs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Knack: Is Knack charged per user?

No. User accounts are unlimited on all plans. Plans are bounded by stored record count, file storage, API calls per day and automation transactions.

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.

Knack: What happens when I exceed the record limit?

You move to a higher tier or reduce stored records. Because the limit is on data rather than people, apps that accumulate history hit it while apps that track a fixed set of entities generally do not.

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.

Knack: Can I export my application or self-host it?

You can export record data. The application itself, its pages, roles, permissions and flows, is not exportable and cannot be self-hosted, so leaving means rebuilding elsewhere.

Restate: Is there a free tier?

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

Knack: Is it suitable for public-facing portals?

That is its strongest case, because logins are unlimited and role-based permissions are built in. The constraint is record volume and API throughput, not audience size.

Restate: Which languages are supported?

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

Knack: Can I use it for regulated data?

HIPAA-aligned and government cloud options exist but only on the Enterprise tier, along with private server environments. Lower tiers should not be used for regulated workloads.

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