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Developer Tools · head to head

Restate vs SonarQube

Restate logo

Restate

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SonarQube logo

SonarQube

Developer Tools

Code quality and code security for clean code, at every step

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; SonarQube advanced Security add-on uses custom pricing
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Restate and SonarQube actually diverge.

Attributes where Restate and SonarQube differ
AttributeRestateSonarQube
Pricing modelPer month by durable action countsubscription
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WebWeb

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Developer Tools).

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 Restate

  • Durable execution
  • Virtual objects
  • Single binary runtime
  • Multi-language SDKs
  • Workflows and sagas
  • Restate Cloud

Only in SonarQube

Nothing recorded that Restate does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Restate

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

SonarQube

  • Code quality analysisnot Restate
  • Vulnerability detectionnot Restate
  • Security scanningnot Restate
  • Compliance reportingnot Restate

Where each one falls short

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

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.

SonarQube

  • Advanced Security add-on uses custom pricing
  • Only private project lines of code count toward limits

Pricing, plan by plan

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

SonarQube

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Supports up to 50000 lines of code in private projects
    • Never expires
    • Covers public projects
  • Team$34/month
    • 30+ languages
    • Code quality standards
    • Bug and vulnerability detection
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Advanced security reports
    • OWASP/CWE/PCI DSS compliance
    • Unlimited users and projects

Which should you pick?

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

Choose SonarQube if

  • You want to start without paying.
SonarQube review

Questions people ask

Is Restate or SonarQube better?
Neither clearly leads. Restate starts at Free and SonarQube at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Restate or SonarQube?
Restate starts at Free and SonarQube at Free.
Does Restate or SonarQube run on more platforms?
Restate runs on Linux, macOS, Web. SonarQube runs on Web.
Can I use Restate for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Restate best used for?
Restate is most often used for payment or order flows where a crash between two external api calls must not double-charge or lose the order, ai agent loops that call tools over minutes or hours and must survive a deployment mid-run, replacing hand-rolled retry, idempotency key and outbox code across a set of microservices, a small team that wants durable workflows without operating a temporal cluster and its database. Of those, payment or order flows where a crash between two external api calls must not double-charge or lose the order and ai agent loops that call tools over minutes or hours and must survive a deployment mid-run are not what SonarQube is typically brought in for.
What can Restate do that SonarQube cannot?
Restate covers Durable execution, Virtual objects, Single binary runtime, Multi-language SDKs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

SonarQube: How much does SonarQube cost?

SonarQube offers a free tier supporting up to 50000 lines of code in private projects, a Team plan starting at $34/month, and custom Enterprise pricing. Team plan includes 14-day free trial.

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.

SonarQube: Is SonarQube free?

Yes, SonarQube offers a free tier that never expires and covers both public and private projects up to 50000 lines of code in private projects.

Source
Restate: Is there a free tier?

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

SonarQube: What languages does SonarQube support?

SonarQube Team plan supports 30+ languages including common programming languages. Enterprise plan adds support for 40+ languages including ABAP, COBOL, and Apex.

Source
Restate: Which languages are supported?

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

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