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Developer Tools · head to head

Restate vs WorkOS

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
WorkOS logo

WorkOS

Cybersecurity

Developer platform for enterprise-ready authentication and identity.

From
$125/one-time per connection
Free plan
No
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.; WorkOS authKit free tier limited to 1 million monthly active users; additional millions cost $2,500/month
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Restate and WorkOS actually diverge.

Attributes where Restate and WorkOS differ
AttributeRestateWorkOS
Starting priceFree$125/one-time per connection
Pricing modelPer month by durable action countusage-based
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WebWeb, API
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: 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 WorkOS

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

WorkOS

  • SaaS applications needing rapid enterprise SSO deploymentnot Restate
  • Companies selling to mid-market and enterprise customersnot Restate
  • Applications requiring SCIM directory sync with corporate identity systemsnot Restate
  • Product teams needing audit logs for compliance (SOC 2, ISO 27001)not Restate
  • Platforms with multiple identity provider requirementsnot 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.

WorkOS

  • AuthKit free tier limited to 1 million monthly active users; additional millions cost $2,500/month
  • Per-connection pricing for SSO and Directory Sync ($125–$50 each) scales poorly for enterprises with many identity providers
  • Audit logs require separate subscription at $125/month per SIEM connection or $99/month per 1 million events
  • Radar fraud protection billed separately at $100/month per 50,000 additional checks beyond 1,000 free checks
  • Custom domain feature requires $99/month subscription
  • Requires annual commitment for SLA and support guarantees; pay-as-you-go tier lacks uptime guarantee

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

WorkOS

$125/one-time per connection
  • Pay as You Go$undefined/variable
    • Per-connection pricing from $125 to $50 with volume discounts
    • Up to 60% discount at scale
    • Quick deployment
  • Annual Credits$undefined/variable
    • Custom pricing with volume discounts
    • 99.99% uptime SLA
    • Guided migration

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 WorkOS if

  • You work on Web, API.
WorkOS review

Questions people ask

Is Restate or WorkOS better?
Neither clearly leads. Restate starts at Free and WorkOS at $125/one-time per connection, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Restate or WorkOS?
Restate has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Restate and $125/one-time per connection for WorkOS.
Does Restate or WorkOS run on more platforms?
Restate runs on Linux, macOS, Web. WorkOS runs on Web, API.
Can I use Restate for free?
Yes. Restate has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. WorkOS starts at $125/one-time per connection.
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 WorkOS is typically brought in for.
What can Restate do that WorkOS 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.

WorkOS: How quickly can I implement WorkOS SSO?

Developers can implement single sign-on in minutes instead of months. Multiple customers report setting up SSO in less than a week, with WorkOS handling the complexity of SAML and OIDC protocols.

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.

WorkOS: What SDKs does WorkOS provide?

WorkOS offers SDKs for Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, PHP, Java, and .NET.

Source
Restate: Is there a free tier?

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

WorkOS: Does WorkOS support SCIM provisioning?

Yes. WorkOS supports SCIM provisioning integration with systems like Okta and Entra ID for automated user management.

Source
Restate: Which languages are supported?

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

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