Stash vs Temporal AI

Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and ratings

Analysis reviewed Live tool data as of 2026-09-01
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At a glance

DimensionStashTemporal AI
PricingFree (self-hosted, no vendor cost)Freemium (Cloud starts at $20/month for 10 workflows)
Core CapabilityPersistent memory layer for AI agentsDurable execution platform for long-running workflows
DeploymentSelf-hosted single binaryCloud or self-hosted (Docker/K8s)
StoragePostgreSQL onlyBuilt-in durable execution history (PostgreSQL, Cassandra, etc.)
Agent IntegrationMCP server nativeOpenAI Agents SDK, Google ADK, MCP (via workflows)
Latest NewsNo recent newsUsage-based billing, custom roles pre-release (June 2026)

Temporal is the right choice if you need an industrial-grade orchestration platform with retries, rollbacks, and human-in-the-loop for complex workflows (AI agents, microservices). Stash is perfect for developers who want a lightweight, self-hosted memory layer for AI agents, using Postgres with zero vendor lock-in. Pick Temporal for reliability at scale; pick Stash for simple, privacy-first agent memory.

Stash
Stash

Persistent, self-hosted memory for AI agents, backed by Postgres.

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Temporal AI
Temporal AI

Durable execution platform keeping AI agents and workflows running through failures with automatic state capture and retries.

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Pricing
Freemium
Freemium
Plans
$0/mo
$0/mo (with $1,000 in credits)
$100/mo
$500/mo
Custom
Popularity
2 views
7.5k views
Skill Level
Advanced
Intermediate
API Available
Platforms
CLIAPIPlugin
WebAPICLI
Categories
🧠 Agent Memory & Runtimes
🕸️ Agent Frameworks & Orchestration⚙️ Developer Infrastructure
Features
Persistent memory for AI agents
PostgreSQL storage backend
MCP server integration
Self-hosted single binary deployment
Episode logging (conversations, actions)
Fact extraction and storage
Working context management
SQL queryable memory
Open source
No vendor lock-in
Offline capable
Durable state across sessions
Durable execution with automatic state capture
Workflow orchestration with automatic retry and recovery
Activities with automatic retries and timeouts
Native SDKs for Python, Go, TypeScript, Ruby, C#, Java, PHP, Rust (preview)
Human-in-the-loop with signals and pause/resume
Saga pattern via compensating transactions
Full visibility UI for workflow state
Serverless Workers for Google Cloud Run (pre-release)
Serverless Workers for AWS Lambda (public preview)
Standalone Activities for independent execution
Workflow Streams for real-time interactivity
Task Queue Priority & Fairness (GA)
Temporal Worker Controller (GA) for K8s lifecycle
External Storage for large payloads (public preview)
Custom Roles for granular permissions (pre-release)
Integrations
LangGraph
OpenAI Agents SDK
Google ADK
Google Cloud Run
AWS Lambda
Azure
Slack
NVIDIA
Salesforce
Twilio
Docker
Kubernetes
Braintrust

Who should pick which

  • Solo founder building a chat agent with memory
    Pick: Stash

    Stash is free, self-hosted, and provides simple persistent memory via MCP. No cloud costs or complex setup.

  • Enterprise team orchestrating multi-step AI workflows
    Pick: Temporal AI

    Temporal’s durable execution, retries, and human-in-the-loop signals are ideal for complex agent pipelines needing reliability.

  • Privacy-conscious researcher needing offline agent memory
    Pick: Stash

    Stash runs as a single binary with no external dependencies, and stores everything in local Postgres, suitable for offline use.

  • Developer integrating OpenAI Agents SDK for a production app
    Pick: Temporal AI

    Temporal has native integration with OpenAI Agents SDK (announced at Replay 2026), plus workflow durability and visibility.

Frequently Asked Questions

Stash vs Temporal AI: which should you choose?

Temporal is the right choice if you need an industrial-grade orchestration platform with retries, rollbacks, and human-in-the-loop for complex workflows (AI agents, microservices). Stash is perfect for developers who want a lightweight, self-hosted memory layer for AI agents, using Postgres with zero vendor lock-in. Pick Temporal for reliability at scale; pick Stash for simple, privacy-first agent memory.

Can I use Stash with Temporal?

Yes, you can combine both—use Temporal for orchestration and Stash as a custom memory activity via its MCP API.

Which one is easier to start with?

Stash is simpler: download a binary, connect to Postgres, and use MCP. Temporal has a steeper learning curve due to its workflow-as-code model.

Does Stash have retries or failure handling?

No, Stash is purely a memory layer. It does not include workflow retries—that's Temporal's job.

Does Temporal support MCP?

Temporal can integrate with MCP via workflows, but it does not ship a dedicated MCP server like Stash.

Which tool is better for a solo developer on a budget?

Stash is free self-hosted; Temporal Cloud has a free tier but scales into costs. For zero budget, Stash wins.

Can I query memory via SQL in Temporal?

Temporal stores workflow state in its own backend—you cannot directly SQL-query memory. Stash exposes agent memories as SQL tables.

Does Stash support human-in-the-loop?

No, Stash does not have signals or pause/resume. Temporal has built-in human-in-the-loop via signals.

Which is more suitable for long-running processes?

Temporal is designed for long-running, fault-tolerant workflows. Stash is for session memory, not process orchestration.

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Last reviewed: July 3, 2026