Sistava vs Mastra
Developer Frameworks
Sistava vs Mastra
Mastra is a TypeScript-first agent framework from the team behind Gatsby. It gives developers a clean set of primitives (agents, workflows, tools, RAG, evals, memory) and a CLI that scaffolds, runs, and deploys a project locally. The framework is Apache 2.0, runs anywhere Node runs, and deploys to Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Workers, or Mastra Cloud with one command.,It is one of the best-engineered options for teams who want to write agent code in TypeScript and own the implementation. Sistava aims somewhere else entirely: not a framework for engineers, but a hiring experience for founders. You do not write the agent; you pick an AI Employee and put them to work.
Profile
- Pricing
- Framework is free and open source (Apache 2.0). Mastra Cloud: Free with 100K observability events and 24 CPU hours, Growing Teams $250/mo with 1M events and 250 CPU hours, custom for scale.
- Founded
- 2024, San Francisco
- Funding
- Approx $35M to $40M raised, including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, Gradient, basecase. Team of around 26 (Mar 2026), many ex-Gatsby.
- Focus
- Open-source TypeScript framework for building AI agents and workflows. Ships agents, workflows, RAG, evals, and a managed Cloud for deployment and observability.
Why Sistava
- Sistava is a product. Mastra is a framework. With Mastra you start in a terminal, write TypeScript, design the workflow graph, choose the model, build the UI, and ship the deployment. With Sistava you sign up, hire a role, and the employee starts working today.
- Sistava ships the operating layer. Memory, schedules, sprint planning, task board, drive, mailbox, billing, multi-tenancy, alerts, and a human-handoff UI are all built in. Mastra gives you primitives for memory and workflows; you still build the operator experience around them.
- Sistava commits to one bundled price. Mastra Cloud is metered (events, CPU hours, retention) and the LLM tokens bill separately through your provider. The cost graph is harder to predict, especially as agents grow chattier.
- Sistava is for non-engineers. The target user runs a one-person company and does not want to maintain a TypeScript repo, a CI pipeline, a deploy target, and an evals suite. Mastra is for engineers who enjoy all of that.
- Honest concession: if you are a TypeScript engineer building agents into your own product, Mastra is one of the strongest open-source options available, with a serious team and serious funding. Sistava is not trying to win that audience.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Mastra | Sistava |
|---|---|---|
| Yes, Apache 2.0 | ✗ | |
| TypeScript | Product, no code required | |
| No, you build each agent | ✓ | |
| No, code-first | Hire from a catalog | |
| Yes, all included | Built into the employee product | |
| Mastra Cloud in public beta | Yes, fully managed | |
| Yes, official deployers | Not applicable, hosted product | |
| DIY with cron or queue | ✓ | |
| No | ✓ | |
| Yes, memory primitive included | ✓ | |
| No, BYO provider keys | ✓ | |
| Free Cloud tier with 100K events | Free plan with credits | |
| $250 per month Cloud | Lower entry price than Growing Teams | |
| You implement tenancy | ✓ | |
| Hours to days of coding | Minutes, hire and go | |
| TypeScript engineers | Founders and operators |