Comparison

KeyDB vs Memcached

On the evidence we track, Memcached leads this comparison with a composite score of 54/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
KeyDB35
Memcached54
Score
Vioscale score
KeyDB35 / 100low · 46%
Memcached54 / 100low · 37%
Pricing
Free tier
KeyDB
Memcached
Model
Memcachedcommercial
Price level
KeyDBfree
Memcachedfree
Transparent
KeyDB
Memcached
Adoption
Dependent repos
KeyDB0
Memcached0
Github stars
KeyDB12,509
Memcached14,259
Activity
Commits last 30d
KeyDB0
Memcached47
Release
Cadence days
KeyDB53
Memcached
History
Memcached
License
Spdx
Language
Primary
KeyDBC++
MemcachedC
Market
Availability

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for key-value stores. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Storage
Storage tier
KeyDBIn-memory
MemcachedIn-memory
Persistence
KeyDBFully durable
MemcachedNone (pure cache)
Data structures
KeyDBRich types
MemcachedKV-only
Protocol
Wire protocol
KeyDBRESP (Redis)
MemcachedMemcached
Distribution
Clustering
KeyDBSharded
MemcachedSharded
Consistency
KeyDBStrong
MemcachedStrong
Ops
Eviction / TTL policies
KeyDB
Memcached
Multi-threaded
KeyDB
Memcached
Pub/Sub / streams
KeyDB
Memcached
Transactions / atomic ops
KeyDBMULTI-EXEC
MemcachedNone
Deployment
Deployment
KeyDBSelf-hosted
MemcachedSelf-hosted
Licensing
Licence class
KeyDBPermissive OSS
MemcachedPermissive OSS
Compatibility
Redis API compatibility
KeyDBFull
MemcachedNone

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

KeyDB

KeyDB is an open-source database that offers significantly higher performance than Redis through multithreading while maintaining full Redis protocol compatibility. It includes advanced features like active replication, FLASH storage, and MVCC architecture for non-blocking queries.

Independently observed

Memcached

Leader

A free, in-memory key-value cache designed to reduce database load and improve application performance by storing temporary copies of frequently accessed data from databases, APIs, or rendered pages. It distributes cache across multiple servers in a cluster, with each piece of data stored in a single consistent location for reliable retrieval.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

KeyDB

Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Memcached

Leader
Open sourceFree tier

Open source and free

as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
macOS
KeyDB
Memcached
Linux
KeyDB
Memcached
CLI
KeyDB
Memcached
Deployment
Self-hosted
KeyDB
Memcached

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.