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Valkey

Open-source high-performance key/value datastore

open sourceupdated Aug 16, 2026

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.

Read our Valkey review

A detailed review by the aicoolies team — click to read

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

Free and open source under BSD 3-Clause license

Platforms

Linux, macOS, FreeBSD — managed services available

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Comparisons

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

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. Free and open source under BSD 3-Clause license

Is Valkey open source?

Yes — Valkey is open source.

What are the best Valkey alternatives?

The top editor-verified Valkey alternatives are Redis, WeKnora.

How does Valkey score in our review?

Our hands-on review scores Valkey 85/100 overall, based on speed, privacy, and developer-experience testing.