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Valkey

BSD-licensed in-memory data store for caching, messaging, streams and database workloads.

What it is

Valkey is a BSD-licensed, vendor-neutral in-memory data structure server descended from Redis OSS 7.2.4. It supports RESP2/RESP3 clients, replication, Sentinel, Cluster, transactions, scripting, Pub/Sub, streams and configurable RDB or AOF persistence. Compatibility is strongest with Redis OSS 7.2 and earlier; Redis Community Edition 7.4+ data files are not compatible. Secure deployment is not automatic and requires network isolation, access control and, where needed, TLS.

Valkey pricing

Valkey does not publish a plan ladder we could verify. Free.

Prices read from the vendor's own pricing page on 2026-08-24. Vendors change plans without notice — check the source before you budget. Price verification log.

Key features

  • Rich data structures

    Stores strings, hashes, lists, sets, sorted sets, streams and specialized structures in memory.

  • Persistence choices

    Supports periodic RDB snapshots, append-only logging, both together or no persistence.

  • Replication and failover

    Uses asynchronous replication with Sentinel or Cluster deployment patterns.

  • RESP compatibility

    Supports RESP2 and RESP3 and a documented migration path from Redis OSS through 7.2.

Strengths and trade-offs

What works well

  • Permissive open source: The server is community-developed under the BSD 3-Clause license.
  • Familiar ecosystem: RESP clients and Redis OSS 7.2-era configurations, modules and data formats ease many migrations.
  • Flexible roles: Data structures, expiry, scripting, transactions, Pub/Sub and streams cover cache and real-time patterns.
  • Scale and availability options: Replication, Sentinel and Cluster support failover and sharding topologies.

Where it falls short

  • Compatibility has a boundary: Redis CE 7.4+ files are incompatible and future Valkey behavior can diverge.
  • Unsafe defaults require hardening: Official guidance warns against direct internet exposure and calls for firewalling, binding, ACL/authentication and optional TLS.
  • Durability is configurable: RDB, AOF and no-persistence modes have different data-loss, latency and recovery tradeoffs.
  • Cluster consistency limits: Asynchronous replication allows windows of acknowledged-write loss, especially during minority partitions.

Who it is for

Platform and application teams needing a low-latency open-source data store and prepared to own memory, durability and security design.

Pick it or skip it

Pick Valkey if

  • Caches, ephemeral state, rate limits, queues, streams and real-time application data
  • Redis OSS 7.2-or-earlier migrations validated against the actual client, modules and persistence files
  • Teams that can operate protected standalone, Sentinel or Cluster deployments

Skip it if

  • The system requires disk-first durability or zero acknowledged-write-loss guarantees
  • A Redis CE 7.4+ data file must be opened directly without a supported migration route
  • The service would be internet-exposed or deployed without firewall, ACL and recovery controls

Our verdict

Valkey is a strong open-source choice for Redis OSS-compatible in-memory workloads, but treat migration and durability as engineering work: test exact commands and files, harden every endpoint, size memory, and rehearse failover plus restoration.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Valkey cost?
Valkey is free to use. We verified this against the vendor's own page; see "What we checked" below for the date.
Does Valkey have a free plan?
Yes. Valkey is free to use at its base level.
Who is Valkey best for?
Platform and application teams needing a low-latency open-source data store and prepared to own memory, durability and security design.
What are the main drawbacks of Valkey?
The trade-offs we noted: Compatibility has a boundary: Redis CE 7.4+ files are incompatible and future Valkey behavior can diverge.; Unsafe defaults require hardening: Official guidance warns against direct internet exposure and calls for firewalling, binding, ACL/authentication and optional TLS.; Durability is configurable: RDB, AOF and no-persistence modes have different data-loss, latency and recovery tradeoffs..
When should you not use Valkey?
Skip Valkey if: The system requires disk-first durability or zero acknowledged-write-loss guarantees; A Redis CE 7.4+ data file must be opened directly without a supported migration route; The service would be internet-exposed or deployed without firewall, ACL and recovery controls.

What we checked

  • Public APIOffers a documented API you can build against.Yes
  • Mobile appHas a native app for iOS or Android, not just a mobile website.No
  • Open source / self-hostableSource is open and the tool can be run on your own infrastructure.Yes
  • SSO (SAML)Supports SAML single sign-on on at least one plan.No

“Not checked” means exactly that — we have not verified it, and we do not guess.

Evidence and freshness

Status: Official sources reviewedReviewed: 2026-08-24

  • Valkey Docs — Introduction ↗

    Checked 2026-08-24 · Supports: BSD-licensed open source, in-memory data structures, database cache broker and streaming uses, replication scripting transactions and expiry, persistence options, Sentinel and Cluster, POSIX and Windows support boundary

  • Valkey Docs — Redis migration ↗

    Checked 2026-08-24 · Supports: Redis OSS 7.2.4 origin, compatibility through Redis OSS 7.2, RESP2 and RESP3, client configuration and module compatibility, RDB and AOF compatibility boundary, Redis CE 7.4+ file incompatibility

  • Valkey Docs — Persistence ↗

    Checked 2026-08-24 · Supports: RDB snapshots, AOF logging, combined mode, disabled persistence, backup use, durability tradeoffs

  • Valkey Docs — Security ↗

    Checked 2026-08-24 · Supports: trusted-environment security model, internet exposure warning, authentication boundary, optional TLS, client replication and cluster-bus TLS

  • Valkey Docs — Cluster specification ↗

    Checked 2026-08-24 · Supports: sharding and scale-out, asynchronous replication, best-effort write safety, acknowledged-write loss windows, partition availability conditions, multi-key operation restrictions

Limit: Official Valkey documentation was reviewed; ToolCompare did not compile or deploy the server, benchmark latency, inspect every command or module, migrate a Redis instance, test client compatibility, configure ACL/TLS, measure memory behavior, induce partitions, validate failover, or restore RDB/AOF backups. Compatibility depends on exact source and target versions and extensions.

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