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Web Development · head to head

Preact vs Restate

Preact logo

Preact

Web Development

3kB alternative to React with the same modern API

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: Preact compatibility through preact/compat is good but not total, and some React libraries break in ways that are hard to diagnose; 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: Preact covers 3kB runtime, Restate covers Durable execution.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Preact and Restate actually diverge.

Attributes where Preact and Restate differ
AttributePreactRestate
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer month by durable action count
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Web
CategoryWeb DevelopmentDeveloper Tools

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 Preact

  • 3kB runtime
  • preact/compat
  • Same modern API
  • Fast rendering

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.

Preact

  • Embedded widgets that load inside someone else’s page and must stay smallnot Restate
  • Marketing and content sites where JavaScript payload affects Core Web Vitalsnot Restate
  • Applications targeting low-bandwidth or low-powered devicesnot Restate

Restate

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

Where each one falls short

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

Preact

  • Compatibility through preact/compat is good but not total, and some React libraries break in ways that are hard to diagnose
  • Behavioural differences from React exist in edge cases, particularly around event handling
  • A much smaller community, so unusual problems have fewer existing answers than React

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

Preact

Free
  • PreactFree
    • Full library
    • Commercial use permitted
    • No usage limits

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 Preact if

  • You need 3kb runtime.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want preact/compat.
Preact 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 Preact or Restate better?
Neither clearly leads. Preact 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, Preact or Restate?
Preact starts at Free and Restate at Free.
Does Preact or Restate run on more platforms?
Preact runs on Web. Restate runs on Linux, macOS, Web.
Can I use Preact for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Preact best used for?
Preact is most often used for embedded widgets that load inside someone else’s page and must stay small, marketing and content sites where javascript payload affects core web vitals, applications targeting low-bandwidth or low-powered devices. Of those, embedded widgets that load inside someone else’s page and must stay small and marketing and content sites where javascript payload affects core web vitals are not what Restate is typically brought in for.
What can Preact do that Restate cannot?
Preact covers 3kB runtime, preact/compat, Same modern API, Fast rendering. Restate covers Durable execution, Virtual objects, Single binary runtime, Multi-language SDKs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Preact: Is Preact free?

Yes, open source under the MIT licence.

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.

Preact: Can I use React libraries with Preact?

Most, through the preact/compat layer. Compatibility is good but not complete, so libraries relying on React internals can break.

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.

Preact: Why choose Preact over React?

Bundle size, almost always. If payload is not a binding constraint, React’s ecosystem is usually the better trade.

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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