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Developer Tools · head to head

Restate vs Temporal

Restate logo

Restate

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Temporal logo

Temporal

Automation Integration

Durable execution platform for fault-tolerant workflows.

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.; Temporal cloud pricing scales with action volume, with per-million overage fees ($50 per million initially)
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Restate and Temporal actually diverge.

Attributes where Restate and Temporal differ
AttributeRestateTemporal
Pricing modelPer month by durable action countfreemium
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WebWeb, API, Self-hosted
CategoryDeveloper ToolsAutomation Integration

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 Restate

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

Only in Temporal

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 Temporal
  • AI agent loops that call tools over minutes or hours and must survive a deployment mid-runnot Temporal
  • Replacing hand-rolled retry, idempotency key and outbox code across a set of microservicesnot Temporal
  • A small team that wants durable workflows without operating a Temporal cluster and its databasenot Temporal

Temporal

  • AI pipeline orchestration and long-running AI workflowsnot Restate
  • Distributed system workflows requiring state durabilitynot Restate
  • Complex backend processes with retry requirementsnot Restate
  • High-volume asynchronous task executionnot Restate
  • Microservices coordination with guaranteed state consistencynot 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.

Temporal

  • Cloud pricing scales with action volume, with per-million overage fees ($50 per million initially)
  • Enterprise customers incur additional storage costs beyond base allocations
  • Self-hosted deployments require operational expertise to deploy and maintain the Temporal Service
  • No native workflow UI builder; workflows must be defined in code
  • Free tier limited to self-hosted option only; no free cloud tier

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

Temporal

Free
  • Open-sourceFree
    • Self-hosted deployment
    • Full platform functionality
    • Community support
  • Essentials$100/month
    • 1 million actions monthly
    • 1 GB active storage
    • 40 GB retained storage
  • Business$500/month
    • 2.5 million actions monthly
    • 2.5 GB active storage
    • 100 GB retained storage
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • 10 million actions monthly
    • 10 GB active storage
    • 400 GB retained storage

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 Temporal if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API, Self-hosted.
Temporal review

Questions people ask

Is Restate or Temporal better?
Neither clearly leads. Restate starts at Free and Temporal at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Restate or Temporal?
Restate starts at Free and Temporal at Free.
Does Restate or Temporal run on more platforms?
Restate runs on Linux, macOS, Web. Temporal runs on Web, API, Self-hosted.
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 Temporal is typically brought in for.
What can Restate do that Temporal 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.

Temporal: What programming languages does Temporal support?

Temporal provides native SDKs for Go, Java, .NET, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and TypeScript.

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.

Temporal: Can I run Temporal on-premises or self-hosted?

Yes. Temporal is available as open-source software under the MIT license, allowing self-hosted deployment. Temporal Cloud is also available as a managed service alternative.

Source
Restate: Is there a free tier?

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

Temporal: What is included in the free tier?

$1,000 in free credits for new users to explore Temporal Cloud. Self-hosted Temporal is available free with full platform functionality.

Source
Restate: Which languages are supported?

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

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