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Cybersecurity · head to head

Proton Mail vs Restate

Proton Mail logo

Proton Mail

Cybersecurity

Secure email that protects your privacy

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: Proton Mail paid plan pricing not displayed on vendor site; 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.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Proton Mail and Restate actually diverge.

Attributes where Proton Mail and Restate differ
AttributeProton MailRestate
Pricing modelfreemiumPer month by durable action count
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Web
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper 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 Proton Mail

Nothing recorded that Restate does not also cover.

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.

Proton Mail

  • Encrypted email communicationnot Restate
  • Privacy-focused email servicenot Restate
  • Family email protectionnot Restate

Restate

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

Where each one falls short

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

Proton Mail

  • Paid plan pricing not displayed on vendor site
  • Free tier limited to 1 GB storage
  • Free tier limited to single email address

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

Proton Mail

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Proton Mail review.

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 Proton Mail if

  • You want to start without paying.
Proton Mail 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 Proton Mail or Restate better?
Neither clearly leads. Proton Mail 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, Proton Mail or Restate?
Proton Mail starts at Free and Restate at Free.
Does Proton Mail or Restate run on more platforms?
Proton Mail runs on Web. Restate runs on Linux, macOS, Web.
Can I use Proton Mail for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Proton Mail best used for?
Proton Mail is most often used for encrypted email communication, privacy-focused email service, family email protection. Of those, encrypted email communication and privacy-focused email service are not what Restate is typically brought in for.
What can Proton Mail do that Restate cannot?
Restate covers Durable execution, Virtual objects, Single binary runtime, Multi-language SDKs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Proton Mail: Is there a free version of Proton Mail?

Yes, Proton Mail offers a free plan with 1 GB storage, 1 encrypted email address, and basic features like folders, labels, and filters.

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.

Proton Mail: What does the Mail Plus plan include?

Mail Plus includes 15 GB storage, 10 encrypted email addresses, support for 1 custom domain, 10 hide-my-email aliases, priority support, and access to Proton Calendar.

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.

Proton Mail: What is included in Proton Unlimited?

Proton Unlimited provides 500 GB storage, 15 email addresses, 3 custom domains, unlimited hide-my-email aliases, access to Mail, Calendar, VPN, Drive, and Pass, plus dedicated support.

Source
Restate: Is there a free tier?

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

Proton Mail: Does Proton Mail offer a money-back guarantee?

Yes, Proton Mail provides a 30-day money-back guarantee for paid plans.

Source
Restate: Which languages are supported?

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

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