Readyset
activeby ReadySet, Inc. · since 2022 · also known as ReadySet, Readyset Cloud
A wire-compatible SQL cache for Postgres and MySQL that keeps cached queries fresh from replication.
Overview
Readyset sits between your application and Postgres or MySQL, speaking their wire protocols, and lets you cache specific SELECT queries. Instead of TTLs it consumes the database's replication stream and updates cached results incrementally using a dataflow engine derived from MIT's Noria research, so cached results stay within replication lag of the source. Uncached queries are proxied to the database. It suits read-heavy apps with repetitive queries that are tired of hand-built cache invalidation. Releases ship monthly under the Business Source License, with a managed Readyset Cloud option.
Strengths & trade-offs
Strengths
- +No application code changes beyond the connection string
- +Cache invalidation handled automatically from the replication stream
- +Sub-millisecond reads for cached queries
- +Uncached queries transparently proxied to the primary
Trade-offs
- −Eventual consistency bounded by replication lag
- −Not every SQL construct is cacheable
- −BSL license restricts offering it as a service
- −Adds another stateful component in the request path
Great for
- +Offloading repetitive read queries from Postgres or MySQL
- +Replacing Redis-based query caches with automatic invalidation
- +Scaling read-heavy SaaS dashboards
Think twice for
- −Read-after-write consistency requirements
- −Write-heavy workloads
Capabilities
Native or official first-party support · 5 of 25 tracked
Scale & consistency
- Comfortable data size
- Medium · ≤ 10 TB
- Horizontal scaling
- Manual
- Multi-region
- No
- Transactions
- None
- Consistency
- Eventual
- Schema
- Strict
- Architecture
- Single node, Client server
- Query languages
- SQL
Scale reads by running multiple Readyset instances against the same upstream.
Deployment
available on · AWS
Ecosystem
Alternatives to Readyset
An incremental view engine that keeps complex SQL results fresh inside your existing Postgres or MySQL.
readyset vs epsio →A Postgres-compatible operational data warehouse that keeps SQL views incrementally up to date.
readyset vs materialize →The in-memory data structure server that became the default cache, now with search, JSON and vectors built in.
readyset vs redis →The Linux Foundation's BSD-licensed fork of Redis, now the default engine on AWS and Google Cloud.
readyset vs valkey →AWS's managed Valkey, Redis OSS and Memcached service, provisioned or serverless.
readyset vs amazon-elasticache →Expensify's WAN-replicated SQLite server with Paxos leader election, MySQL protocol and job/cache plugins.
readyset vs bedrock →Readyset FAQ
What is Readyset?
Readyset is a relational database by ReadySet, Inc., first released in 2022. Readyset sits between your application and Postgres or MySQL, speaking their wire protocols, and lets you cache specific SELECT queries. Instead of TTLs it consumes the database's replication stream and updates cached results incrementally using a dataflow engine derived from MIT's Noria research, so cached results stay within replication lag of the source. Uncached queries are proxied to the database. It suits read-heavy apps with repetitive queries that are tired of hand-built cache invalidation. Releases ship monthly under the Business Source License, with a managed Readyset Cloud option.
Is Readyset open source?
Not in the OSI sense. Readyset 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.
Does Readyset support ACID transactions?
No. Readyset does not provide ACID transactions; its consistency model is eventual.
Does Readyset scale horizontally?
Readyset has no built-in sharding; scaling out means partitioning data in your application. It is comfortable at medium scale (≤ 10 TB).
How can I run Readyset?
You can self-host it and use the vendor's managed cloud. Managed offerings include Readyset Cloud. It is available on AWS.
What is Readyset best for?
Readyset is a strong fit for offloading repetitive read queries from Postgres or MySQL, replacing Redis-based query caches with automatic invalidation and scaling read-heavy SaaS dashboards. Think twice for read-after-write consistency requirements.
What are the best alternatives to Readyset?
Common alternatives to Readyset include Epsio, Materialize, Redis, Valkey and Amazon ElastiCache. The right choice depends on your workload, scale and hosting; WhichDB's smart match ranks them against your requirements.
How popular is Readyset?
Readyset ranks #264 of 844 databases on the WhichDB Score (12.7/100), and #83 among relational databases. The score combines public adoption signals such as package downloads, GitHub activity, job posts and developer discussion.