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Dragonfly vs Redis

Dragonfly: A multi-threaded, shared-nothing in-memory store that speaks Redis and Memcached on one big box. Redis: The in-memory data structure server that became the default cache, now with search, JSON and vectors built in.

key differences

  • Licensing: Dragonfly is source-available (Business Source License 1.1); Redis is open source (copyleft) (Tri-license: AGPLv3, RSALv2 or SSPLv1 (Redis 8+)).

choose dragonfly for

  • +Consolidating many Redis shards onto fewer large instances
  • +High-throughput caching and session storage
  • +BullMQ / Sidekiq style queue backends
  • +Replacing Memcached and Redis with one engine

best at · Cache, Sessions, Queue

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

DragonflyA multi-threaded, shared-nothing in-memory store that speaks Redis and Memcached on one big box.
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
Document, Vector, Search Engine
Document, Vector, Time-Series, Search Engine
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
DragonflyDB Ltd.
Redis Ltd.
First release
2022
2009
Latest version
2.0.2 (Oct 7, 2026)
8.10.3 (Oct 26, 2026)
License
Source-availableBusiness Source License 1.1
Open source (copyleft)Tri-license: AGPLv3, RSALv2 or SSPLv1 (Redis 8+)
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
20.7
84.3
Rank
#150
#2
GitHub stars
31.8K
77.1K
Stack Overflow questions
–
25.4K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
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, Single node, Primary replica, Client server
In memory, Single node, Primary replica, Distributed, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure
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, Queue, Pub/Sub
Cache, Sessions, Queue, Pub/Sub
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Dragonfly vs Redis: FAQ

What is the difference between Dragonfly and Redis?

Dragonfly: A multi-threaded, shared-nothing in-memory store that speaks Redis and Memcached on one big box. Redis: The in-memory data structure server that became the default cache, now with search, JSON and vectors built in. Licensing: Dragonfly is source-available (Business Source License 1.1); Redis is open source (copyleft) (Tri-license: AGPLv3, RSALv2 or SSPLv1 (Redis 8+)).

When should I choose Dragonfly over Redis?

Choose Dragonfly for consolidating many Redis shards onto fewer large instances; high-throughput caching and session storage; and BullMQ / Sidekiq style queue backends. Choose Redis for application and database query caching; session storage and user tokens; and rate limiting and distributed locks.

Is Dragonfly or Redis more popular?

Redis ranks #2 on the WhichDB Score (84.3/100) and Dragonfly ranks #150 (20.7/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Dragonfly and Redis open source?

Not in the OSI sense. Dragonfly is source-available: you can read the code, but the license restricts some uses, typically offering it as a competing managed service. License: Business Source License 1.1. Yes. Redis is open source. License: Tri-license: AGPLv3, RSALv2 or SSPLv1 (Redis 8+).