vs

Microsoft Garnet vs Redis

Microsoft Garnet: Microsoft Research's .NET cache-store that speaks RESP and scales across cores and storage tiers. Redis: The in-memory data structure server that became the default cache, now with search, JSON and vectors built in.

key differences

  • Licensing: Microsoft Garnet is open source (permissive) (MIT License); Redis is open source (copyleft) (Tri-license: AGPLv3, RSALv2 or SSPLv1 (Redis 8+)).
  • Only Redis has secondary indexes, full-text search, json, streaming ingest.
  • Microsoft Garnet can run embedded in your application process.

choose garnet for

  • +Redis-compatible caching for .NET-heavy stacks
  • +High-throughput caches that need an SSD spill tier
  • +Embedding a cache-store inside a .NET service

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

overview
Primary model
Key-Value
Key-Value
Also supports
Vector
Document, Vector, Time-Series, Search Engine
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Microsoft Research
Redis Ltd.
First release
2024
2009
Latest version
2.2.4 (Oct 22, 2026)
8.10.3 (Oct 26, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)MIT License
Open source (copyleft)Tri-license: AGPLv3, RSALv2 or SSPLv1 (Redis 8+)
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
7.8
84.3
Rank
#336
#2
GitHub stars
12.1K
77.1K
Stack Overflow questions
–
25.4K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
None
Active active
ACID
Limited
Limited
Consistency
Eventual
Eventual
Schema
Schemaless
Schemaless
Architecture
In memory, Single node, Primary replica, Distributed, 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, 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), Lua, C# stored procedures
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, Vector search
Cache, Sessions, Queue, Pub/Sub

Microsoft Garnet vs Redis: FAQ

What is the difference between Microsoft Garnet and Redis?

Microsoft Garnet: Microsoft Research's .NET cache-store that speaks RESP and scales across cores and storage tiers. Redis: The in-memory data structure server that became the default cache, now with search, JSON and vectors built in. Licensing: Microsoft Garnet is open source (permissive) (MIT License); Redis is open source (copyleft) (Tri-license: AGPLv3, RSALv2 or SSPLv1 (Redis 8+)). Only Redis has secondary indexes, full-text search, json, streaming ingest. Microsoft Garnet can run embedded in your application process.

When should I choose Microsoft Garnet over Redis?

Choose Microsoft Garnet for redis-compatible caching for .NET-heavy stacks, high-throughput caches that need an SSD spill tier and embedding a cache-store inside a .NET service. Choose Redis for application and database query caching; session storage and user tokens; and rate limiting and distributed locks.

Is Microsoft Garnet or Redis more popular?

Redis ranks #2 on the WhichDB Score (84.3/100) and Microsoft Garnet ranks #336 (7.8/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Microsoft Garnet and Redis open source?

Yes. Microsoft Garnet is open source. License: MIT License. Yes. Redis is open source. License: Tri-license: AGPLv3, RSALv2 or SSPLv1 (Redis 8+).