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Developer Tools · head to head

Restate vs WarpBuild

Restate logo

Restate

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
WarpBuild logo

WarpBuild

Developer Tools

2x faster, 50% cheaper GitHub Actions runners

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Restate has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; WarpBuild per-minute pricing requires tracking usage to estimate monthly costs
  • They diverge on capability: Restate covers Durable execution, WarpBuild covers Optimized runner infrastructure.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Restate and WarpBuild actually diverge.

Attributes where Restate and WarpBuild differ
AttributeRestateWarpBuild
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer month by durable action countUsage-based per minute, varies by runner configuration
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WebGitHub Actions, Linux, Windows, macOS, Cloud

Identical on both: 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 WarpBuild

  • Optimized runner infrastructure
  • Intelligent caching
  • Incremental builds
  • Multi-architecture support
  • Unlimited concurrency
  • Autoscaling
  • BYOC support
  • Docker builders

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

WarpBuild

  • Accelerating CI builds for teams with high test volumesnot Restate
  • Running tests generated by AI coding assistants efficientlynot Restate
  • Reducing GitHub Actions costs by 50% or morenot Restate
  • Supporting teams that need ARM64 architecture runnersnot 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.

WarpBuild

  • Per-minute pricing requires tracking usage to estimate monthly costs
  • Large configuration runners (32 vCPU) expensive at $0.064/min
  • macOS M4 Pro 12-core at $0.16/min is highest-cost option
  • BYOC option requires cloud setup by customer

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

WarpBuild

On request
  • Linux x86-64 (2vCPU, 8GB)$0.004/minute
    • 2 vCPU
    • 8 GB RAM
    • Standard performance
  • Linux x86-64 (4vCPU, 16GB)$0.008/minute
    • 4 vCPU
    • 16 GB RAM
    • Increased performance
  • Linux x86-64 (8vCPU, 32GB)$0.016/minute
    • 8 vCPU
    • 32 GB RAM
    • High performance
  • Linux x86-64 (16vCPU, 64GB)$0.032/minute
    • 16 vCPU
    • 64 GB RAM
    • Enterprise performance

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 WarpBuild if

  • You need optimized runner infrastructure.
  • You work on GitHub Actions, Linux, Windows, macOS, Cloud.
  • You also want intelligent caching.
WarpBuild review

Questions people ask

Is Restate or WarpBuild better?
Neither clearly leads. Restate starts at Free and WarpBuild at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Restate or WarpBuild?
Restate has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Restate and On request for WarpBuild.
Does Restate or WarpBuild run on more platforms?
Restate runs on Linux, macOS, Web. WarpBuild runs on GitHub Actions, Linux, Windows, macOS, Cloud.
Can I use Restate for free?
Yes. Restate has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. WarpBuild starts at On request.
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 WarpBuild is typically brought in for.
What can Restate do that WarpBuild cannot?
Restate covers Durable execution, Virtual objects, Single binary runtime, Multi-language SDKs. WarpBuild covers Optimized runner infrastructure, Intelligent caching, Incremental builds, Multi-architecture support.

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.

WarpBuild: How much cheaper is WarpBuild compared to GitHub Actions?

WarpBuild offers approximately 50% cost savings compared to GitHub-hosted runners. For example, Linux x86-64 2vCPU/8GB costs $0.004/min with WarpBuild vs $0.008/min with GitHub Actions.

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.

WarpBuild: What is BYOC and how does it differ from managed runners?

BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud) allows customers to run WarpBuild on their own cloud infrastructure at $0.002/min. Managed runners use WarpBuild's cloud infrastructure. BYOC provides lower costs but requires customer setup.

Source
Restate: Is there a free tier?

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

WarpBuild: Does WarpBuild support ARM64 runners?

Yes, WarpBuild offers ARM64 runners at lower costs than x86-64. Linux ARM64 starts at $0.003/min for 2vCPU/8GB configuration.

Source
Restate: Which languages are supported?

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

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