Softwr

Web Development · head to head

Nginx vs Restate

Nginx logo

Nginx

Web Development

High-performance web server and reverse proxy

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
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

  • Each has a real cost: Nginx open-source nginx has no admin API for changing arbitrary config at runtime; dynamic reconfiguration requires editing the config file and reloading via 'nginx -s reload'; 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: Nginx covers High-performance web server, Restate covers Durable execution.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Nginx and Restate actually diverge.

Attributes where Nginx and Restate differ
AttributeNginxRestate
Pricing modelUnknownPer month by durable action count
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxLinux, macOS, Web
CategoryWeb DevelopmentDeveloper Tools
Founded2011Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Nginx

  • High-performance web server
  • Reverse proxy
  • Load balancing
  • HTTP caching
  • SSL/TLS termination
  • Gzip compression
  • Rate limiting
  • Static file serving

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.

Nginx

  • HTTP web server and static file servingnot Restate
  • Reverse proxy and load balancernot Restate
  • TLS/SSL termination (SNI, HTTP/2, HTTP/3)not Restate
  • Content cachingnot Restate
  • Kubernetes Ingress Controller backendnot Restate
  • TCP/UDP stream proxyingnot Restate

Restate

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

Where each one falls short

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

Nginx

  • Open-source nginx has no admin API for changing arbitrary config at runtime; dynamic reconfiguration requires editing the config file and reloading via 'nginx -s reload'
  • No official built-in GUI or dashboard for management or live metrics in the open-source edition
  • Advanced capabilities such as active health checks, dynamic upstream reconfiguration without reload, and a full API gateway feature set are exclusive to the paid NGINX Plus product, not open-source nginx
  • No published list price for NGINX Plus on the current F5 product page; pricing requires contacting sales

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

Nginx

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Web server
    • Reverse proxy
    • Load balancing

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 Nginx if

  • You need high-performance web server.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want reverse proxy.
Nginx 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 Nginx or Restate better?
Neither clearly leads. Nginx 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, Nginx or Restate?
Nginx starts at Free and Restate at Free.
Does Nginx or Restate run on more platforms?
Nginx runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Restate runs on Linux, macOS, Web.
Can I use Nginx for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Nginx best used for?
Nginx is most often used for http web server and static file serving, reverse proxy and load balancer, tls/ssl termination (sni, http/2, http/3), content caching. Of those, http web server and static file serving and reverse proxy and load balancer are not what Restate is typically brought in for.
What can Nginx do that Restate cannot?
Nginx covers High-performance web server, Reverse proxy, Load balancing, HTTP caching. Restate covers Durable execution, Virtual objects, Single binary runtime, Multi-language SDKs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Nginx: How much does nginx cost?

nginx is free and open source software distributed under the 2-clause BSD License. Enterprise distributions, commercial support, and training are available from F5 Inc. at custom pricing.

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.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Nginx

More on Restate

Keep looking

Other head to heads