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Developer Tools · head to head

Namespace vs Restate

Namespace logo

Namespace

Developer Tools

The dev platform for the next 100 billion commits

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Restate logo

Restate

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Namespace developer plan is pay-as-you-go only; minimum usage unclear; 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: Namespace covers Devboxes, Restate covers Durable execution.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Namespace and Restate actually diverge.

Attributes where Namespace and Restate differ
AttributeNamespaceRestate
Pricing modelUnknownPer month by durable action count
PlatformsCloud, Mac, Windows, LinuxLinux, 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 Namespace

  • Devboxes
  • GitHub Actions runners
  • Docker builds
  • Cross-invocation caching
  • NVMe storage
  • High-speed networking
  • Multiple OS support
  • Bazel and Turborepo support

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.

Namespace

  • Providing AI coding agents with cloud-based development environmentsnot Restate
  • Accelerating CI builds with faster GitHub Actions runnersnot Restate
  • Distributing builds across teams with managed infrastructurenot Restate
  • Scaling development velocity for monorepo organizationsnot Restate

Restate

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

Where each one falls short

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

Namespace

  • Developer plan is pay-as-you-go only; minimum usage unclear
  • Team plan $100/mo is competitive but usage limits may be tight
  • Devbox pricing separate at $0.004/minute could add up quickly
  • Enterprise plan requires custom sales conversation

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

Namespace

Free
  • DeveloperFree
    • Pay-as-you-go
    • On-demand compute
    • Docker builds
  • Team$100/month
    • 100,000 unit minutes
    • 1,000 Docker builds
    • Everything in Developer
  • Business$250/month
    • 250,000 unit minutes
    • 2,500 Docker builds
    • Everything in Team
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Custom compute/Docker build limits
    • Audit log export
    • Enterprise SSO

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 Namespace if

  • You need devboxes.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, Mac, Windows, Linux.
  • You also want github actions runners.
Namespace 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 Namespace or Restate better?
Neither clearly leads. Namespace 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, Namespace or Restate?
Namespace starts at Free and Restate at Free.
Does Namespace or Restate run on more platforms?
Namespace runs on Cloud, Mac, Windows, Linux. Restate runs on Linux, macOS, Web.
Can I use Namespace for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Namespace best used for?
Namespace is most often used for providing ai coding agents with cloud-based development environments, accelerating ci builds with faster github actions runners, distributing builds across teams with managed infrastructure, scaling development velocity for monorepo organizations. Of those, providing ai coding agents with cloud-based development environments and accelerating ci builds with faster github actions runners are not what Restate is typically brought in for.
What can Namespace do that Restate cannot?
Namespace covers Devboxes, GitHub Actions runners, Docker builds, Cross-invocation caching. Restate covers Durable execution, Virtual objects, Single binary runtime, Multi-language SDKs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Namespace: How is compute usage metered on the Developer plan?

Developer plan uses pay-as-you-go billing. Devboxes bill at $0.004 per minute. Storage and caching services have separate usage-based fees. A 30-day free trial is available to test usage patterns.

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.

Namespace: What is the difference between Team and Business plans?

Team ($100/mo) includes 100,000 unit minutes and 1,000 Docker builds with email support. Business ($250/mo) includes 250,000 unit minutes, 2,500 Docker builds, and high concurrency with a dedicated Slack channel.

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.

Namespace: Can Namespace support AI coding agents?

Yes, Namespace Devboxes are specifically designed as feature-rich development environments for AI coding agents, with full tooling and performance optimization.

Source
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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