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Amazon DynamoDB vs Amazon MemoryDB

Amazon DynamoDB: AWS's serverless key-value and document store with single-digit-millisecond reads at any scale. Amazon MemoryDB: A durable, Valkey/Redis-compatible in-memory database on AWS backed by a multi-AZ transaction log.

key differences

  • Amazon DynamoDB is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than Amazon MemoryDB (≤ 10 TB).
  • Only Amazon DynamoDB has secondary indexes, json, change data capture, triggers, time travel.
  • Only Amazon MemoryDB has vector search, geospatial, stored procedures, pub/sub, in-memory.
  • Amazon DynamoDB has a serverless option; Amazon MemoryDB does not.

choose amazon-dynamodb for

  • +Serverless application backends on Lambda
  • +User profiles, sessions and shopping carts
  • +High-traffic e-commerce and gaming state
  • +IoT device state and metadata

best at · OLTP, Sessions, Cache

choose amazon-memorydb for

  • +Durable session and shopping-cart state
  • +Primary database for microservices using Redis data structures
  • +Real-time leaderboards that must not lose updates
  • +Vector search close to application data

best at · Sessions, Cache, OLTP

Amazon DynamoDBAWS's serverless key-value and document store with single-digit-millisecond reads at any scale.
Amazon MemoryDBA durable, Valkey/Redis-compatible in-memory database on AWS backed by a multi-AZ transaction log.
overview
Primary model
Key-Value
Key-Value
Also supports
Document
Vector
Type
Managed service
Managed service
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services
First release
2012
2021
Latest version
–
–
License
ProprietaryProprietary (AWS service)
ProprietaryAWS service terms
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
63.3
2.5
Rank
#14
#473
GitHub stars
–
–
Stack Overflow questions
14.3K
25
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Massive (Multi-PB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
Active active
Active active
ACID
Limited
Limited
Consistency
Strong, Eventual
Strong, Eventual
Schema
Schemaless
Schemaless
Architecture
Distributed, Serverless
In memory, Distributed, Primary replica
deployment
Self-hosted
—
—
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
✓
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS
AWS
capabilities
Transactions
✓
✓
Joins
—
—
Secondary indexes
✓
—
Full-text search
—
—
Vector search
—
✓
Geospatial
—
✓
JSON
✓
—
Change data capture
✓
—
Triggers
✓
—
Stored procedures
—
✓
Materialized views
—
—
TTL / expiry
✓
✓
Pub/Sub
—
✓
Columnar storage
—
—
In-memory
—
✓
Durable persistence
✓
✓
Compression
—
—
Encryption at rest
✓
✓
Role-based access
✓
✓
Time travel
✓
—
Branching
—
—
Online schema changes
—
—
Streaming ingest
✓
✓
Offline sync
—
—
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
DynamoDB API, PartiQL
Redis commands (RESP), Lua
Client languages
Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, C#, .NET, Rust, Ruby
Python, Java, JavaScript, Go, C#, Rust, Ruby, PHP
Best for
OLTP, Sessions, Cache, Metadata
Sessions, Cache, OLTP, Vector search
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Amazon DynamoDB vs Amazon MemoryDB: FAQ

What is the difference between Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon MemoryDB?

Amazon DynamoDB: AWS's serverless key-value and document store with single-digit-millisecond reads at any scale. Amazon MemoryDB: A durable, Valkey/Redis-compatible in-memory database on AWS backed by a multi-AZ transaction log. Amazon DynamoDB is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than Amazon MemoryDB (≤ 10 TB). Only Amazon DynamoDB has secondary indexes, json, change data capture, triggers, time travel. Only Amazon MemoryDB has vector search, geospatial, stored procedures, pub/sub, in-memory.

When should I choose Amazon DynamoDB over Amazon MemoryDB?

Choose Amazon DynamoDB for serverless application backends on Lambda; user profiles, sessions and shopping carts; and high-traffic e-commerce and gaming state. Choose Amazon MemoryDB for durable session and shopping-cart state; primary database for microservices using Redis data structures; and real-time leaderboards that must not lose updates.

Is Amazon DynamoDB or Amazon MemoryDB more popular?

Amazon DynamoDB ranks #14 on the WhichDB Score (63.3/100) and Amazon MemoryDB ranks #473 (2.5/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon MemoryDB open source?

No. Amazon DynamoDB is proprietary, closed-source software. No. Amazon MemoryDB is proprietary, closed-source software. License: AWS service terms.