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Technology · head to head

Plane vs Restate

Plane logo

Plane

Technology

Open-source project management tool

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Restate logo

Restate

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Plane self-hosted Community edition requires managing your own Docker/Kubernetes infra plus your own PostgreSQL, Redis, and S3-compatible/GCS/MinIO storage; no single-binary install; 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: Plane covers Issue tracking, Restate covers Durable execution.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Plane and Restate actually diverge.

Attributes where Plane and Restate differ
AttributePlaneRestate
Pricing modelfreemiumPer month by durable action count
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, WindowsLinux, macOS, Web
CategoryTechnologyDeveloper Tools
Founded2022Unknown

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 Plane

  • Issue tracking
  • Cycles (Sprints)
  • Modules
  • Views & layouts
  • Pages (Docs)
  • Analytics
  • API access
  • 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.

Plane

  • Project and task management with cycles, modules, epics, and initiativesnot Restate
  • Documentation and knowledge management via workspace wiki tied to project worknot Restate
  • Sprint planning and issue triagenot Restate
  • Cross-functional collaboration with analytics and dashboardsnot Restate
  • Migration target from Jira, Linear, Monday, ClickUp, or Asananot Restate

Restate

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

Where each one falls short

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

Plane

  • Self-hosted Community edition requires managing your own Docker/Kubernetes infra plus your own PostgreSQL, Redis, and S3-compatible/GCS/MinIO storage; no single-binary install
  • Cloud Free tier caps at 12 users and 500 AI credits per seat per month
  • Substantial feature gating by tier: custom work item types, workspace wiki, time tracking, dashboards, initiatives, teamspaces, and integrations require Pro or above; LDAP, granular access control, and multi-workflow approvals require Enterprise Grid
  • Guest-to-paid-member ratio capped at 1:5 on the Pro 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

Plane

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 500 AI credits per seat
    • Max 12 users
    • Unlimited projects
  • Pro$6/seat per month
    • 1,000 AI credits per seat
    • Unlimited users
    • Custom work item types
  • Business$13/seat per month
    • 2,000 AI credits per seat
    • Unlimited users
    • Project templates, recurring work items
  • Enterprise Grid$null/mo
    • Flexible AI credit allocation
    • Private deployments
    • Granular access control

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 Plane if

  • You need issue tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want cycles (sprints).

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 Plane or Restate better?
Neither clearly leads. Plane 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, Plane or Restate?
Plane starts at Free and Restate at Free.
Does Plane or Restate run on more platforms?
Plane runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows. Restate runs on Linux, macOS, Web.
Can I use Plane for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Plane best used for?
Plane is most often used for project and task management with cycles, modules, epics, and initiatives, documentation and knowledge management via workspace wiki tied to project work, sprint planning and issue triage, cross-functional collaboration with analytics and dashboards. Of those, project and task management with cycles, modules, epics, and initiatives and documentation and knowledge management via workspace wiki tied to project work are not what Restate is typically brought in for.
What can Plane do that Restate cannot?
Plane covers Issue tracking, Cycles (Sprints), Modules, Views & layouts. Restate covers Durable execution, Virtual objects, Single binary runtime, Multi-language SDKs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Plane: Does Plane offer a free plan?

Yes, Plane's free tier includes 500 AI credits per seat, support for up to 12 users, and access to projects, work items, cycles, modules, layouts, views, estimates, and pages.

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.

Plane: How much does Plane Pro cost?

Plane Pro costs $6/seat per month and saves 25% when billed annually. It includes 1,000 AI credits per seat, unlimited users, and access to custom work item types, wiki, time tracking, and integrations.

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.

Plane: What is the difference between Plane's paid tiers?

Pro ($6/seat/month) includes 1,000 AI credits and workspace wiki. Business ($13/seat/month) adds 2,000 AI credits, project templates, and recurring work items. Enterprise Grid offers custom pricing with multiple workflows and LDAP support.

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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