Rivet

Overview

Rivet Actors is an open-source library that brings the actor model to your existing infrastructure. Build stateful, distributed applications with any language and technology stack, deployed on your own infrastructure.

When to choose Rivet Actors

Developer-friendly experience

When you want an intuitive platform with high-quality documentation, mature local development experience, and in-depth observability in to your workloads

Works with your existing infrastructure

When you want to use actors with your existing deployment process on Kubernetes, AWS, VPS, or any infrastructure

Supports any language/technology

When you need things to work out of the box with any programming language, framework, or runtime instead of proprietary platforms

Provides monitoring and observability

When you need built-in monitoring for actors that integrates with your existing observability stack

Get started with Rivet Actors

Cloudflare Durable Objects

Cloudflare Durable Objects provide stateful serverless computing that runs on Cloudflare's global edge network. Built on Cloudflare's proprietary platform, Durable Objects offer strong consistency and state persistence for JavaScript/TypeScript applications.

When to choose Cloudflare Durable Objects

Already using Cloudflare ecosystem

When you're already committed to Cloudflare Workers and want stateful capabilities

JavaScript/TypeScript only

When your team exclusively works with JavaScript/TypeScript and doesn't need other languages

Don't mind platform constraints

When you're comfortable with Cloudflare's deployment process, monitoring limitations, and vendor lock-in

Feature Comparison

Feature	Rivet Actors	Cloudflare Durable Objects	Why it matters
Open Source
Open-source	Yes, Rivet is open-source with the Apache 2.0 license. View on GitHub.	No, Cloudflare is a closed-source, proprietary platform	Building your core technology on open-source software is vital to ensure portability and flexibility as your needs change
Rivet Actors vs Cloudflare Durable Objects
Actor support	First-class actor model with Rivet Actors library	Durable Objects for stateful workloads	Actor model enables scalable stateful applications with state persistence, hibernation, and realtime
Works with existing infrastructure	Deploy actors on Kubernetes, AWS, VPS, or any infrastructure	Locked to Cloudflare's infrastructure	Using your existing infrastructure avoids vendor lock-in and integrates with your current setup
No changes to deploy process	Import the library and deploy with your existing CI/CD	Requires Cloudflare-specific deployment process	Keeping your existing deployment process reduces complexity and learning curve
Language/technology support	Works with any language or technology stack	Limited to JavaScript/TypeScript	Full language support lets you use your existing skills and codebase
Integrates with existing monitoring	Works with your existing observability stack	Limited monitoring options, mostly Cloudflare-specific	Integration with existing monitoring reduces operational overhead
KV Persistence	Built-in KV storage for actors	KV supported for Durable Objects	Key-value storage enables persistent state without external dependencies
SQLite Persistence	SQLite support in preview	SQLite supported for Durable Objects	SQLite provides relational database capabilities for complex data models
Memory limits	Configurable memory limits based on needs	128MB limit for Durable Objects	Higher memory limits allow more complex stateful applications
State inspector	Built-in tools to inspect and modify actor state	No built-in state inspection tools	Ability to view & edit actor state in real time simplifies debugging and management
RPC debugger	Interactive RPC testing tools for actors	No built-in RPC debugging	Ability to test remote procedure calls to actors accelerates development and troubleshooting
Connection inspector	Real-time monitoring of actor connections	No connection visualization tools	Visibility into active connections helps diagnose client-side issues and monitor usage patterns
REST API	Full REST API for actor management	No RESTful API for Durable Objects	REST API enables programmatic management and integration with external tools
Metadata access	Built-in metadata API	Custom implementation required	Direct access to metadata such as tags, region, and more simplifies management and deployment
Graceful shutdown	3-hour draining window	60s grace period	Draining period allows for graceful state transfers and prevents data loss
Connection protocols	HTTP, WebSockets, TCP, and UDP support	HTTP and WebSockets only	More protocol options support diverse application requirements
Actor networking	Actors have dedicated hostnames that can be accessed via Functions or directly (without a middle man)	Durable Objects have limited networking functionality, can only be access via Workers	Customizable networking enables more flexibility in why types of workloads your actors can serve & compatibility with existing tooling
Actor discovery	Flexible tagging system for organizing, querying, and monitoring actors	String-based lookup	Tagging enables more sophisticated service discovery patterns
Control over actor upgrades	Full control with dedicated upgrade APIs	Only allows controlling gradual deployment percentages, not specific Durable Object versions	Controlled upgrades ensure smooth transitions without service disruption tailored to your application's architecture
Monitoring	Built-in monitoring for development and production	Custom monitoring required	Integrated monitoring simplifies operations and debugging
Logging	Comprehensive logging included	Complex setup depending on configuration	Built-in logging reduces setup time and operational complexity
Platform
Instant rollback to versions	One-click rollback to previous versions	Version rollback supported	Quick rollback capabilities minimize downtime and recover from problematic deployments
Built-in monitoring & logging	Comprehensive monitoring and logging for all services	Limited for Workers, not supported for Durable Objects	Integrated monitoring and logging simplifies troubleshooting and performance optimization
User-uploaded builds	Full support for user-uploaded builds and multi-tenancy	Cloudflare for Platforms	Enables building platforms where your users can upload their own code to run on your infrastructure
Tagging for builds, actors, and containers	Comprehensive tagging system for all resources	No built-in tagging system	Tagging is important for organization, cost allocation, and managing user-uploaded builds
Development Experience
Documentation	Comprehensive, developer-focused documentation	Fragmented and difficult to understand documentation	Clear documentation accelerates learning and implementation
Local development with multiple apps	Unified local development experience for managing multiple apps	Requires tmux or similar for running multiple Wrangler instances in parallel	Local development experience for multiple apps (i.e. microservices) reduces developer friction with configuration & improves developer collaboration.
Compatible with Docker Compose	Seamless integration with Docker Compose for local development	No Docker Compose compatibility	Integration with Docker Compose enables use with your existing development workflows and tools
Observability for debugging	Built-in obervability with tools available both localy and in Rivet Cloud	Requires additional setup	Immediate visibility into application behavior speeds debugging

Conclusion

While Cloudflare Durable Objects provides stateful serverless computing with vendor lock-in, Rivet Actors offers the same actor model capabilities as an open-source library that works with your existing infrastructure. Choose Rivet Actors when you want the power of actors without changing your deployment process, technology stack, or being locked into a specific platform. Choose Cloudflare Durable Objects when you're already committed to the Cloudflare ecosystem and don't mind the platform constraints.

Migrating from Cloudflare Durable Objects or have questions?

Looking to migrate your existing Cloudflare Durable Objects to Rivet Actors or have more questions about how Rivet Actors can meet your needs? Our team can help make the transition smooth and seamless. We provide migration assistance, technical guidance, and dedicated support to ensure your experience with Rivet Actors is successful.

Rivet Actors vs Cloudflare Durable Objects