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Comparison · DevOps
NATS vs Rivet
A side-by-side editorial comparison of NATS and Rivet — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
NATS vs Rivet: at a glance
| Feature | NATS | Rivet |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | DevOps | DevOps |
| Velocity score | 5.0 | 7.5 |
| Sparks · 30d | 0 | 3 |
| Top themes | messaging, jetstream, operations, multi-tenancy | actors, ai agents, sqlite, forking |
| Last editorial update | 1d ago | 2d ago |
| Website | Visit → | — |
What is NATS?
NATS 2.15.3 and 2.14.10 go final with a reload check and lighter JetStream scans.
NATS released 2.15.3 and 2.14.10 on November 11 after two release candidates each. Both bring optional client-certificate verification, account-hash subject mappings, configurable leafnode and gateway ping intervals, and JetStream filestore scans that skip non-matching messages. 2.15.3 also adds the -t --test_reload flag that says whether a config change needs a restart.
What is Rivet?
Rivet Actors can now fork in 20 ms, SQLite database included, without copying data.
Rivet builds infrastructure for long-lived actors and AI agents: BYOC, OpenTelemetry tracing, actor-scoped JWTs and agentOS Hosted VMs. The 3.0 Preview made Rivet a single stateless binary on S3, and the Rust SDK reached general availability on 6 November. On 11 November Rivet added actor forking: a fork starts in 20 ms with the original actor's state and SQLite database and costs nothing until it writes.
NATS vs Rivet: editorial side-by-side
NATS
5.0DEVOPS
NATS 2.15.3 and 2.14.10 go final with a reload check and lighter JetStream scans.
◆ Current state
NATS released 2.15.3 and 2.14.10 on November 11 after two release candidates each. Both bring optional client-certificate verification, account-hash subject mappings, configurable leafnode and gateway ping intervals, and JetStream filestore scans that skip non-matching messages. 2.15.3 also adds the -t --test_reload flag that says whether a config change needs a restart.
◆ Where it's heading
NATS runs two supported lines in lockstep, with RCs every few days before each patch. The work is operator-focused: multi-tenant account mappings, health checks for leafnodes and less JetStream overhead under large backlogs. New operator tooling lands on 2.15 first.
◆ Prediction
Expect quiet weeks of maintenance and then the next RC pair for 2.15.4 and 2.14.11, likely with more JetStream filestore tuning.
Rivet
7.5DEVOPS
Rivet Actors can now fork in 20 ms, SQLite database included, without copying data.
◆ Current state
Rivet builds infrastructure for long-lived actors and AI agents: BYOC, OpenTelemetry tracing, actor-scoped JWTs and agentOS Hosted VMs. The 3.0 Preview made Rivet a single stateless binary on S3, and the Rust SDK reached general availability on 6 November. On 11 November Rivet added actor forking: a fork starts in 20 ms with the original actor's state and SQLite database and costs nothing until it writes.
◆ Where it's heading
Rivet keeps turning its S3-backed storage engine into features for agent workloads. Copy-on-write forking follows from the 3.0 storage design and gives agents a cheap way to branch a session, try something and discard it. The SDK and auth work of the past two months points to Rivet positioning actors as the runtime for agent backends.
◆ Prediction
Forking is likely to show up next in agentOS and the Pi integrations as a way to branch agent runs; the entries do not say when 3.0 leaves preview.
Alternatives to NATS and Rivet
Other DevOps products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either NATS or Rivet.
Appsmith
Appsmith 2.7 makes its MCP agent ask before deleting widgets and blocks stale edits.
Apache Arrow Rust
Arrow Rust cuts release candidates on three older lines at once.
Sanity
Sanity's MCP server now explains failed validations and stops skipping them.
GitHub
GitHub sets a December 8 cutoff for ARM32 Actions runners and opens AI Scan to the API.
Manticore Search
Manticore keeps patching 31.x, now fixing a FREEZE crash and a DocID ordering bug.
Recent activity from NATS and Rivet
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2d agoRivetIntroducing OpenOrange: Run Cloudflare Workers Anywhere ⚡
- 2d agoNATSNATS 2.14.10: optional TLS verify, account-hash mappings backported
- 2d agoNATSNATS 2.15.3: config reload check, optional TLS verify, faster scans
- 3d agoRivetIntroducing Actor Forking for SQLite ⚡
- 7d agoNATSNATS 2.14.10 RC2 backports JetStream redelivery and ack fixes
- 7d agoNATSNATS 2.15.3 RC2 adds a config reload check, faster redelivery
- 8d agoRivetRust SDK for Rivet Actors Is Now Generally Available
- 11d agoNATSNATS 2.14.10 RC1 backports account-hash subject mappings
- 11d agoNATSNATS 2.15.3 RC1 adds account-hash subject mapping functions
- 19d agoRivetIntroducing Rivet 3.0 Preview ⚡
- 1mo agoRivetIntroducing agentOS 0.4 & Hosted VMs
- 1mo agoRivetIntroducing Pi Durable for Rivet
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between NATS and Rivet?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Rivet is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 7.5 vs 5.0), with 3 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is NATS better than Rivet?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Rivet is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 7.5 vs 5.0), with 3 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other DevOps products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to NATS?
Top NATS alternatives in DevOps are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "NATS alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/nats for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Rivet?
Top Rivet alternatives in DevOps are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Rivet alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rivet for the full list with editorial commentary on each.