Valkey vs Redis - Ultimate Comparison Guide

Redis and Valkey are both powerful key-value stores used in various applications for caching, real-time data processing, and more. With the recent emergence of Valkey as a community-driven alternative to Redis, it’s important to understand the differences and similarities between the two. This guide provides a detailed comparison to help you decide which solution best fits your needs.

Overview

Redis

Redis is a well-established, in-memory data structure store used as a database, cache, and message broker. It supports various data structures such as strings, hashes, lists, sets, and more. Redis has been widely adopted due to its high performance, ease of use, and robust features.

Valkey

Valkey is an open-source alternative to Redis, developed in response to changes in Redis's licensing policy. Backed by major tech companies, Valkey aims to provide a truly open-source, high-performance data structure server with enhanced scalability and features.

Valkey vs Redis - Key Differences

Licensing and Community

• Redis has transitioned to a source-available license, which has prompted some concerns about long-term open-source availability. Redis is maintained and commercially supported by Redis Inc., the parent company behind the technology.
• Valkey remains under the BSD 3-clause license, ensuring it is fully open-source and community-driven. This change is backed by major tech companies like AWS and Google Cloud, ensuring continued development and support.

Performance and Scalability

• Redis is known for its performance, but Valkey aims to push these boundaries further with enhanced multi-threading and scalability features.
• Valkey supports automatic cluster failover and improved scaling capabilities, offering a more seamless experience in distributed environments.

Observability and Monitoring

• Valkey offers more advanced observability with per-slot metrics, providing detailed insights into performance and usage patterns.
• Redis provides basic monitoring, suitable for many applications but lacking the granularity offered by Valkey.

Memory and RDMA Support

• Valkey features a new dictionary structure for better memory efficiency and has experimental RDMA support, promising even greater performance improvements in specialized environments.
• Redis does not currently support RDMA natively, which can be a limitation for certain high-performance use cases.

Support and Backers

Valkey has garnered support from several major technology companies, which enhances its credibility and ensures a robust development roadmap:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS): Contributes resources and expertise to maintain Valkey as a leading open-source solution.
• Google Cloud: Supports the project's open-source governance, encouraging innovation and collaboration.
• Oracle: Actively involved in supporting Valkey's development and integration into diverse environments.
• Ericsson: Provides technical contributions and expertise to enhance Valkey's performance and features.
• Snap Inc.: Focuses on improving Valkey’s scalability and throughput.

In contrast, Redis is primarily maintained and commercially backed by Redis Inc., which drives its development and commercial offerings, such as Redis Enterprise.

Conclusion

Both Valkey and Redis are powerful solutions for key-value storage needs. However, the choice between them depends on specific requirements, such as licensing preferences, performance needs, and the importance of community support. Valkey offers a promising alternative with its open-source commitment and backing from major industry players, making it a viable option for those looking to leverage cutting-edge technology while maintaining open-source values.

As Valkey continues to develop, it is expected to introduce more features and improvements, further closing the gap with Redis and potentially surpassing it in some aspects. Whether you choose Redis or Valkey, both tools provide robust solutions for modern data handling challenges.

Related Guides

• Introduction to Valkey (The OSS Redis Fork)
• Redis to Valkey - The Ultimate Migration Guide
• Valkey Installation + Setup - Getting Started Guide