Rivet is a self-hostable orchestration platform that runs agentic workloads as durable Actors with state, realtime, and scheduling built in. Teams run agents, workflows, sandboxes, and generated apps as long-lived Actors on their own infrastructure or on Rivet Cloud instead of stitching together queues, state stores, and schedulers.[1][2]
Quick verdict
Teams shipping durable agentic workloads benefit most from Rivet. One platform covers stateful Actors with per-Actor SQLite, durable TypeScript workflows with retries and approvals, and realtime plus scheduling, deployable self-hosted or on Rivet Cloud. The constraint is operational and budget shape: self-hosting needs moderate operator effort and regulated controls such as SSO, air-gapped operation, and data locations were not confirmed, while Cloud plans add usage metering above the base tiers. Teams that can own either path should default to Rivet; teams needing confirmed SSO or zero-ops serverless should verify those first.[1][2][3][4]
Key features
Durable Actors as the core primitive Durable Actors as the core primitive: run agents, workflows, sandboxes, and generated apps as long-lived Actors with durable state, realtime connections, queues, and scheduling.[1][2]
Vendor-claimed density and cold starts Vendor-claimed density and cold starts: the homepage states 12 ms cold starts, 72 KB memory per Actor, and billions of Actors on one control plane. Treat these as vendor-published figures, not independently verified measurements.[1]
Per-Actor SQLite that survives restarts Per-Actor SQLite that survives restarts: each Actor carries its own SQLite database persisted across restarts, so per-agent or per-session state needs no separate store.[1][2]
Durable TypeScript workflows Durable TypeScript workflows: build on Actors with recorded steps, retries, human approvals, and runs that resume after restarts and deploys, with step results recorded and replayed.[1]
Self-host or Rivet Cloud deployment Self-host or Rivet Cloud deployment: self-host the control plane on operator infrastructure or run workers on Rivet Cloud managed infrastructure.[1][2]
Typed SDKs with React hooks Typed SDKs with React hooks: typed backend SDKs with React hooks and no custom runtime, with quickstarts for Node.js, Bun, React, Next.js, Rust, Effect, and Cloudflare Workers.[1][2]
Management API, CLI, and observability Management API, CLI, and observability: HTTP API with OpenAPI and AsyncAPI specs plus a management API and CLI, with namespaces, regions, and OpenTelemetry support.[1]
Broad self-host and worker targets Broad self-host and worker targets: control-plane targets include Docker Compose, Kubernetes, VM, AWS ECS, Railway, Render, and custom setups, with worker deploys to Cloudflare, Vercel, Lambda, and bare metal.[1]
Who will love it
Teams running stateful AI agents: one durable Actor per agent or session keeps state, scheduling, and realtime connections together across restarts.[1][2]
Teams with multi-step workflows that must resume: recorded steps with retries and human approvals survive failures, restarts, and deploys instead of restarting from scratch.[1]
Teams needing deployment choice: managed Rivet Cloud plans or a self-hosted Apache-2.0 control plane on operator infrastructure cover opposite compliance and cost postures.[1][2]
Who should avoid it
Teams without ops capacity: multi-target self-hosting with production checklists and configuration reference indicates moderate operator effort, so teams wanting zero-infrastructure serverless should prefer Rivet Cloud or another fully managed path.[1]
Teams needing confirmed enterprise controls: RBAC is referenced but SSO support, offline or air-gapped operation, concrete data-location lists, and team-size guidance were not confirmed in this pass, so regulated adopters must verify these before committing.[1][2]
Budget-capped teams ignoring usage metering: Rivet Cloud adds usage-based metering above the base plans and self-hosting shifts cost to infrastructure and operations, so confirm metered spend and BYOC support terms before budgeting.[1]
Alternatives and compatibility
The catalogue-listed durable-execution overlap is Inngest: both document multi-step functions whose completed steps are recorded and replayed after failure or restart. Scope is durable execution only; Rivet additionally schedules stateful Actors, sandboxes, and realtime apps. Editorial inference, not vendor-endorsed.[1]
Rivet fits teams that can carry either Cloud usage spend or a self-hosted control plane with Docker Compose, Kubernetes, VM, AWS, Railway, or Render operation and want actors, workflows, and realtime in one platform.[1][2]
License-sensitive adopters should note the boundary precisely: the self-hosted core is Apache-2.0 per the root LICENSE, while Rivet Cloud plans and the Enterprise BYOC edition with priority support and SLA are paid offerings documented on the pricing page.[1][2]
Questions worth asking
What is Rivet best for?
Durable agentic workloads: one long-lived Actor per agent or session holding state across restarts, multi-step TypeScript workflows that resume after deploys, and realtime apps over WebSockets. It is not a fit for teams wanting a finished AI product or for workloads with no state, scheduling, or restart recovery needs.[1][2]
How much does Rivet cost per month?
As checked October 12, 2026, the self-hosted core is Apache-2.0 with no license fee and docs present self-hosting as the no-cloud-cost path. Rivet Cloud lists a $0/mo Free tier with $20/mo Hobby and $200/mo Team plans plus usage-based metering, and an Enterprise BYOC edition with priority support and SLA. Confirm current pricing on rivet.dev before budgeting.[1][2]
Can you self-host Rivet?
Yes, on operator infrastructure. The control plane self-hosts via Docker Compose, Kubernetes, VM, AWS ECS, Railway, Render, or custom setups, with separate worker targets including Cloudflare, Vercel, Lambda, and bare metal. Expect moderate operator effort with production checklists and configuration rather than single-command setup.[1][2]
Sources and editorial review
Source research. Reviewed on October 12, 2026. Written by Sanjib Sah. AI assisted; reviewed by a human editor.
We have not run or tested this product.
- Rivet - The Orchestrator for Agentic Workloads
official · Observed October 12, 2026
Official homepage positions Rivet as a fast, high-density, scalable orchestrator for agentic workloads; states open-source and self-hostable with 12 ms cold starts, 72 KB per Actor, and billions of Actors on one control plane.
- Rivet Documentation
official · Observed October 12, 2026
Docs overview: Rivet runs agents, workflows, sandboxes, and generated apps as Actors; workers run on own infrastructure or Rivet Cloud; lists HTTP API, OpenAPI and AsyncAPI specs, CLI, namespaces, regions, OpenTelemetry.
- Rivet Workflows documentation
official · Observed October 12, 2026
Workflows are durable TypeScript workflows built on Actors with recorded steps, retries, human approvals, and runs that resume after restarts and deploys; step results recorded and replayed.
- Self-host control plane documentation
official · Observed October 12, 2026
Control plane self-hosts via Docker Compose, Kubernetes, VM, AWS ECS, Railway, Render, or custom setups; separate worker deploy targets include Cloudflare, Vercel, Lambda, and bare metal.
- Rivet Cloud Pricing
official · Observed October 12, 2026
Rivet Cloud has a $0/mo Free tier, $20/mo Hobby and $200/mo Team plans plus usage-based metering; Enterprise Edition is BYOC with priority support and SLA; self-hosting presented as the no-cloud-cost path.
- rivet-dev/rivet on GitHub
official · Observed October 12, 2026
Canonical repository rivet-dev/rivet; README describes Rivet Actors as durable processes for agents, workflows, and sandboxes and links quickstarts for Node.js, Bun, React, Next.js, Rust, Effect, and Cloudflare Workers.
- Rivet LICENSE
official · Observed October 12, 2026
Repository root LICENSE is the Apache License Version 2.0, January 2004.
Compared with these products
No explicit proprietary baseline is recorded.