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Databases · head to head

RavenDB vs Restate

RavenDB logo

RavenDB

Databases

The fully transactional NoSQL document database

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit RavenDBFull review
Restate logo

Restate

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit RestateFull review

The short version

  • RavenDB is an open-source document-oriented database written in C#.
  • Free plans on both; paid from $499/yr and $300/mo.
  • Only RavenDB lists ACID Transactions; only Restate lists durable execution.
  • Where RavenDB falls short: the free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which RavenDB and Restate actually diverge.

Attributes where RavenDB and Restate differ
AttributeRavenDBRestate
Pricing modelFreemiumPer month by durable action count
PlatformsLinux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted, WebLinux, macOS, Web
CategoryDatabasesDeveloper Tools

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

Not yet recorded: founded for Restate.

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 RavenDB

  • ACID Transactions
  • Auto-indexing
  • Full-text Search
  • Graph Queries
  • Distributed Counters
  • Time Series
  • Document Compression
  • .NET

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.

RavenDB

  • Running a distributed document database with ACID transactionsnot Restate
  • Self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardwarenot Restate
  • Replicating operational data out to analytics systems through ETLnot Restate

Restate

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

Where each one falls short

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

RavenDB

  • The free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal
  • The free Community licence caps a customer at 60 cores and forces you to stay on the latest major version
  • The Professional licence is limited to a single database, a 5 node cluster, 40 cores and 240 GB RAM
  • Sharding across nodes, ETL to OLAP, Elasticsearch and Kafka, and data archival are Enterprise only
  • Enterprise and AI licence pricing is contact us only with no published rate

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

RavenDB

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • 3 cores
    • 6GB RAM
    • Community support
  • Professional$499/yr
    • Production use
    • Professional support
    • Advanced features

Restate

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Fifty thousand durable actions per month
    • No credit card required
    • Community support
  • Starter$300/mo
    • Twenty million actions per month
    • Two hundred actions per second, bursting to one thousand
    • Twenty GB storage
  • Pro$1,000/mo
    • Fifty million actions per month
    • Five hundred actions per second, bursting to two thousand
    • Fifty GB storage
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Negotiated volume
    • Twenty-four seven P0 support
    • 99.99 per cent SLA

Which should you pick?

Choose RavenDB if

  • You need acid transactions.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted, Web.
  • You also want auto-indexing.
RavenDB 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 RavenDB or Restate better?
Neither clearly leads. RavenDB 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, RavenDB or Restate?
RavenDB starts at Free and Restate at Free.
Does RavenDB or Restate run on more platforms?
RavenDB runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted, Web. Restate runs on Linux, macOS, Web.
Can I use RavenDB for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is RavenDB best used for?
RavenDB is most often used for running a distributed document database with acid transactions, self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardware, replicating operational data out to analytics systems through etl. Of those, running a distributed document database with acid transactions and self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardware are not what Restate is typically brought in for.
What can RavenDB do that Restate cannot?
RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, Auto-indexing, Full-text Search, Graph Queries. Restate covers Durable execution, Virtual objects, Single binary runtime, Multi-language SDKs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

RavenDB: Is RavenDB free or open source?

RavenDB is open source under the AGPLv3 license and available on GitHub. It also offers a free developer license with enterprise-level features limited to 9 cores, 36GB max RAM, 3 nodes, and non-commercial use.

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.

RavenDB: Can I use RavenDB commercially for free?

RavenDB offers a free Community License that permits commercial deployment with unlimited databases and sizes, subject to a 60-core maximum per customer and requirement to run the latest major version.

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.

RavenDB: What commercial licensing options does RavenDB offer?

RavenDB offers Professional, Enterprise, and AI tiers for commercial use. Pricing for these tiers requires contacting their sales team at [email protected].

Source
Restate: Is there a free tier?

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

RavenDB: Does RavenDB offer a cloud hosting option?

RavenDB Cloud provides a fully managed cloud database with maintenance, failover, and backups included. Pricing is available at cloud.ravendb.net/pricing.

Source
Restate: Which languages are supported?

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

RavenDB: Is there a refund window if I purchase RavenDB?

RavenDB offers a 30-day refund window for purchased licenses.

Source
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