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Valkey

Open-source high-performance key/value datastore

Valkey is a Linux Foundation-backed, BSD-3-Clause open-source fork of Redis 7.2.4 for caching, queues, and real-time data workloads. Current 9.1 and 8.1.8 releases continue performance, security, module, and cluster work while preserving Redis-compatible migration paths. It has 26K+ GitHub stars and managed-service support from AWS, Google, Oracle, Ericsson, and others.

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About Valkey

Valkey emerged in March 2024 when Redis Ltd moved away from open-source licensing, prompting six maintainers from AWS, Alibaba, Tencent, Ericsson, Huawei, and Oracle to fork the last BSD-licensed Redis version. The Linux Foundation immediately backed the project, and within months nearly 50 companies were contributing. For teams running Redis in production, Valkey offers full API compatibility with Redis 7.2 and earlier, meaning existing applications can switch without code changes.

Current Valkey releases emphasize performance, security, module, and cluster improvements while preserving Redis 7.2 compatibility. The public project now highlights Valkey 9.1 and the 8.1.8 maintenance line, with BSD-licensed module work around JSON, Bloom filters, and vector search plus cluster observability improvements. Teams should still benchmark their own read/write mix and module requirements before assuming a universal performance win over Redis Stack.

The project enjoys first-class managed service support from Amazon ElastiCache, DigitalOcean, Aiven, Heroku, UpCloud, and others. Spring Data Valkey provides native integration with the Java ecosystem. With over 25,000 GitHub stars and the backing of the Linux Foundation's governance model, Valkey guarantees no future surprise license changes. For new projects in 2026, it has become the default choice for teams wanting truly open-source in-memory data infrastructure.

Pricing & Platform Specs

Pricing Summary

100% free and open-source high-performance in-memory key-value data store (BSD-3-Clause License, 26k+ GitHub stars) stewarded by the Linux Foundation. Features complete drop-in Redis API/protocol compatibility with $0 software licensing fees. Operational costs are limited to self-hosted server infrastructure or managed cloud services (AWS ElastiCache for Valkey, Google Cloud Memorystore for Valkey, Aiven).

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Supported Platforms

Linux, macOS, FreeBSD — managed services available

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Alternatives

All Valkey alternatives →
Redis logo

Redis

In-memory data store

In-memory data structure store used as database, cache, message broker, and streaming engine. Supports strings, hashes, lists, sets, sorted sets, streams, geospatial indexes, and HyperLogLog. Features pub/sub messaging, Lua scripting, transactions, persistence (RDB/AOF), replication, and Redis Cluster for horizontal scaling. Redis Stack adds JSON, search, time series, and graph capabilities. Sub-millisecond latency. Available as open-source or managed (Redis Cloud, AWS ElastiCache).

freemium
WeKnora logo

WeKnora

Enterprise RAG framework by Tencent

WeKnora is a Tencent-developed LLM-powered knowledge management and Q&A framework for enterprise document understanding and semantic retrieval. Supports 10+ document formats including PDF, Word, Excel, and images with seamless IM platform integration for WeCom, Feishu, Slack, and Telegram. Offers Quick Q&A mode using RAG pipelines and Intelligent Reasoning mode with ReACT agents for complex multi-step reasoning tasks across organizational knowledge bases.

freemiumOpen Source

Side-by-Side Comparisons

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Valkey
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Redis

Valkey vs Redis — Open-Source Fork vs Proprietary License

Valkey is the Linux Foundation-backed open-source fork of Redis created after Redis changed to restrictive licensing in 2024. Both provide high-performance in-memory key/value storage, but they diverge on governance, licensing, advanced features, and long-term roadmap. This comparison helps teams decide which to adopt for new projects or whether to migrate existing Redis deployments.

ValkeyRedis

Community experience

Sources & verification

Sources checked
Content verified

Verification dates are editorial checks. Routine CMS saves and automatic updatedAt timestamps do not advance them.

FAQ

What is Valkey?

Valkey is a Linux Foundation-backed, BSD-3-Clause open-source fork of Redis 7.2.4 for caching, queues, and real-time data workloads. Current 9.1 and 8.1.8 releases continue performance, security, module, and cluster work while preserving Redis-compatible migration paths. It has 26K+ GitHub stars and managed-service support from AWS, Google, Oracle, Ericsson, and others.

Is Valkey free?

Yes — Valkey is open source and free to use. 100% free and open-source high-performance in-memory key-value data store (BSD-3-Clause License, 26k+ GitHub stars) stewarded by the Linux Foundation. Features complete drop-in Redis API/protocol compatibility with $0 software licensing fees. Operational costs are limited to self-hosted server infrastructure or managed cloud services (AWS ElastiCache for Valkey, Google Cloud Memorystore for Valkey, Aiven).

Is Valkey open source?

Yes — Valkey is open source.

Is Valkey still maintained?

Yes — Valkey is active. Its listing was last verified on September 6, 2026.

What are the best Valkey alternatives?

The first editor-selected Valkey alternatives are Redis, WeKnora.

How does Valkey score in our review?

The published editorial review lists Valkey at 85/100 overall across speed, privacy, and developer experience. Check the review's evidence status and test metadata for its verification level.