| Aspect | Redis | Valkey |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | The original project, developed by Redis the company | A fork of Redis 7.2, a Linux Foundation project backed by AWS, Google Cloud, Oracle and others |
| License | RSALv2/SSPLv1 since 7.4, Redis 8 added AGPLv3 | BSD-3-Clause, no restrictions |
| Compatibility | The reference RESP protocol and commands | Same protocol, Redis clients work unchanged |
| Modules and extensions | Bundled in Redis 8: JSON, search, time series, probabilistic structures | Its own modules (for example valkey-json, valkey-search) evolve separately |
| Performance | Single-threaded command execution, multi-threaded I/O | Improved multi-threaded I/O and memory optimizations since Valkey 8 |
| Managed services | Redis Cloud and cloud services based on Redis | Supported in AWS ElastiCache and MemoryDB, Google Memorystore |
| Governance | One company sets the direction | Neutral governance, decisions by the community |
| Best for | When you need Redis bundled modules and vendor support | When a permissive license and cloud managed services matter |
Choose Redis when
- You use Redis modules (JSON, search, time series) as one package.
- You need commercial support from Redis.
- The AGPLv3 and RSALv2 licenses are acceptable to you.
Choose Valkey when
- You need a BSD license and freedom from legal questions.
- You run on AWS or Google Cloud where Valkey is cheaper or the default.
- Neutral project governance matters.
Bottom line
For plain caching, queues and sessions there is almost no difference, so license and managed service pricing become the main arguments. For new cloud projects, Valkey is often the simpler pick.
Compared
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