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Developer Tools · head to head

Restate vs VictoriaMetrics

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
VictoriaMetrics logo

VictoriaMetrics

Cloud

Fast, cost-effective time series database for metrics

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
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.; VictoriaMetrics promQL compatibility is very close but not identical, and MetricsQL extensions do not port back
  • They diverge on capability: Restate covers Durable execution, VictoriaMetrics covers PromQL compatible.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Restate and VictoriaMetrics actually diverge.

Attributes where Restate and VictoriaMetrics differ
AttributeRestateVictoriaMetrics
Pricing modelPer month by durable action countOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WebLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCloud

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 VictoriaMetrics

  • PromQL compatible
  • Low resource use
  • Single binary or cluster
  • Remote write target

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

VictoriaMetrics

  • Keeping months or years of Prometheus metrics without the memory costnot Restate
  • High-cardinality metrics where Prometheus strugglesnot Restate
  • Consolidating metrics from many Prometheus instances into one queryable storenot 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.

VictoriaMetrics

  • PromQL compatibility is very close but not identical, and MetricsQL extensions do not port back
  • Smaller community than Prometheus, so fewer guides and third-party integrations
  • The clustered version has meaningfully more moving parts than the single binary suggests
  • Some enterprise features sit outside the open-source offering

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

VictoriaMetrics

Free
  • VictoriaMetricsFree
    • Full functionality
    • No data limits
    • Community support

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 VictoriaMetrics if

  • You need promql compatible.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want low resource use.
VictoriaMetrics review

Questions people ask

Is Restate or VictoriaMetrics better?
Neither clearly leads. Restate starts at Free and VictoriaMetrics at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Restate or VictoriaMetrics?
Restate starts at Free and VictoriaMetrics at Free.
Does Restate or VictoriaMetrics run on more platforms?
Restate runs on Linux, macOS, Web. VictoriaMetrics runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, 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 VictoriaMetrics is typically brought in for.
What can Restate do that VictoriaMetrics cannot?
Restate covers Durable execution, Virtual objects, Single binary runtime, Multi-language SDKs. VictoriaMetrics covers PromQL compatible, Low resource use, Single binary or cluster, Remote write target.

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.

VictoriaMetrics: Is VictoriaMetrics free?

The open-source version is free with no data limits. An enterprise edition and cloud service are paid.

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.

VictoriaMetrics: Does it replace Prometheus?

It can, but most teams keep Prometheus for scraping and use VictoriaMetrics as the long-term store behind it.

Restate: Is there a free tier?

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

VictoriaMetrics: Is PromQL fully supported?

Very nearly. It implements PromQL and extends it with MetricsQL, though a small number of edge-case behaviours differ.

Restate: Which languages are supported?

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

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