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Amazon ElastiCache vs Redis

Amazon ElastiCache: AWS's managed Valkey, Redis OSS and Memcached service, provisioned or serverless. Redis: The in-memory data structure server that became the default cache, now with search, JSON and vectors built in.

key differences

  • Licensing: Amazon ElastiCache is proprietary (AWS service terms); Redis is open source (copyleft) (Tri-license: AGPLv3, RSALv2 or SSPLv1 (Redis 8+)).
  • Amazon ElastiCache is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than Redis (≤ 10 TB).
  • Only Amazon ElastiCache has encryption at rest.
  • Amazon ElastiCache has a serverless option; Redis does not.

choose amazon-elasticache for

  • +Database query caching for RDS and DynamoDB
  • +Session storage for web apps on AWS
  • +Leaderboards and real-time counters
  • +Semantic caching for generative AI apps

best at · Cache, Sessions, Pub/Sub

choose redis for

  • +Application and database query caching
  • +Session storage and user tokens
  • +Rate limiting and distributed locks
  • +Leaderboards and counters

best at · Cache, Sessions, Queue

Amazon ElastiCacheAWS's managed Valkey, Redis OSS and Memcached service, provisioned or serverless.
RedisThe in-memory data structure server that became the default cache, now with search, JSON and vectors built in.
overview
Primary model
Key-Value
Key-Value
Also supports
Vector, Search Engine
Document, Vector, Time-Series, Search Engine
Type
Managed service
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Amazon Web Services
Redis Ltd.
First release
2011
2009
Latest version
Valkey 9.1 engine (Jun 23, 2026)
8.10.3 (Oct 26, 2026)
License
ProprietaryAWS service terms
Open source (copyleft)Tri-license: AGPLv3, RSALv2 or SSPLv1 (Redis 8+)
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
29.1
84.3
Rank
#89
#2
GitHub stars
–
77.1K
Stack Overflow questions
916
25.4K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
Read replicas
Active active
ACID
Limited
Limited
Consistency
Eventual
Eventual
Schema
Schemaless
Schemaless
Architecture
In memory, Primary replica, Distributed, Serverless
In memory, Single node, Primary replica, Distributed, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
—
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
✓
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, DigitalOcean, Heroku, Render
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
Redis commands (RESP), Memcached protocol, Lua
Redis commands (RESP), Lua, Redis Query Engine (FT.*)
Client languages
Python, Java, JavaScript, Go, C#, Rust, Ruby, PHP
Python, Java, JavaScript, Go, C#, Rust, Ruby, PHP
Best for
Cache, Sessions, Pub/Sub, Queue
Cache, Sessions, Queue, Pub/Sub
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Amazon ElastiCache vs Redis: FAQ

What is the difference between Amazon ElastiCache and Redis?

Amazon ElastiCache: AWS's managed Valkey, Redis OSS and Memcached service, provisioned or serverless. Redis: The in-memory data structure server that became the default cache, now with search, JSON and vectors built in. Licensing: Amazon ElastiCache is proprietary (AWS service terms); Redis is open source (copyleft) (Tri-license: AGPLv3, RSALv2 or SSPLv1 (Redis 8+)). Amazon ElastiCache is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than Redis (≤ 10 TB). Only Amazon ElastiCache has encryption at rest.

When should I choose Amazon ElastiCache over Redis?

Choose Amazon ElastiCache for database query caching for RDS and DynamoDB; session storage for web apps on AWS; and leaderboards and real-time counters. Choose Redis for application and database query caching; session storage and user tokens; and rate limiting and distributed locks.

Is Amazon ElastiCache or Redis more popular?

Redis ranks #2 on the WhichDB Score (84.3/100) and Amazon ElastiCache ranks #89 (29.1/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Amazon ElastiCache and Redis open source?

No. Amazon ElastiCache is proprietary, closed-source software. License: AWS service terms. Yes. Redis is open source. License: Tri-license: AGPLv3, RSALv2 or SSPLv1 (Redis 8+).