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What's the Difference Between Amazon ElastiCache and Amazon MemoryDB for Valkey?

Compare Amazon ElastiCache and Amazon MemoryDB for Valkey side by side — features, pricing, and ideal use cases to help you choose the right product.

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Comparisons
Amazon ElastiCache
Amazon MemoryDB for Valkey
Category

Database, In-Memory

Database, In-Memory
Description

Serverless cache with Valkey-, Memcached-, and Redis OSS-compatibility

Durable, Valkey and Redis OSS-compatible in-memory database for ultra-fast performance.
Best for
  • Session caching
  • Real-time analytics
  • Leaderboards
  • Pub/sub messaging
  • Queuing
  • Session stores
  • Caching with durability
  • Real-time applications
  • Leaderboards
Key features
  • Redis & Memcached
  • Multi-AZ
  • Auto scaling
  • Encryption
  • Global Datastore
  • Valkey compatible
  • Multi-AZ durability
  • Microsecond reads
  • Data tiering
  • Vector search
Pricing model

On-Demand or Reserved nodes

Pay per node hour + data stored
Free tier

Yes

No
Expert take

“Use Redis when you need data structures (sorted sets for leaderboards, pub/sub for messaging, streams for event logs). Use Memcached when you need simple key-value caching with multi-threaded performance. Both deliver sub-millisecond reads.”
— Didier Durand, re:Post Top Contributor [profile]

“Amazon MemoryDB for Valkey provides a Valkey-compatible in-memory database with durability. It is an open-source alternative to Redis with the same API compatibility.”
— Oleksii Bebych, re:Post Top Contributor [profile]
Product page

Learn more about Amazon ElastiCache »

Learn more about Amazon MemoryDB for Valkey »

When to use Amazon ElastiCache or Amazon MemoryDB for Valkey

Use Amazon ElastiCache when:

  • Session caching
  • Real-time analytics
  • Leaderboards
  • Pub/sub messaging
  • Queuing

Learn more about Amazon ElastiCache »

Use Amazon MemoryDB for Valkey when:

  • Session stores
  • Caching with durability
  • Real-time applications
  • Leaderboards

Learn more about Amazon MemoryDB for Valkey »

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