# Memcached vs RocksDB

**Leader by Vioscale score:** RocksDB

| Attribute | Memcached | RocksDB |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 54.2 (37% (low)) | 61 (48% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 47 | 72 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 0 | 2,684 |
| adoption.github_stars | 14,259 | 32,011 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 1,832 |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | An embeddable C++ database library optimized for high-performance storage and retrieval on flash drives and RAM, supporting workloads from application caching to multi-terabyte data storage with configurable write and read performance tradeoffs. |
| features.capabilities | `{"clustering":"sharded","deployment":"self_hosted","consistency":"strong","persistence":"none","eviction_ttl":true,"storage_tier":"in_memory","transactions":"none","licence_class":"permissive","wire_protocol":"memcached","multi_threaded":true,"pubsub_streams":false,"data_structures":"kv_only","redis_api_compat":"none"}` | `{"clustering":"single_node","deployment":"embedded","consistency":"strong","persistence":"append_log","storage_tier":"persistent","licence_class":"copyleft","multi_threaded":true,"data_structures":"kv_only"}` |
| language.primary | C | C++ |
| license.spdx | BSD-3-Clause | GPL-2.0 |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true}` | `{"linux":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Open source and free","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://memcached.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T16:43:06.339Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://rocksdb.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T21:39:20.137Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.cadence_days | - | 21 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v11.8.1","date":"2026-08-07T17:30:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v11.8.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v11.1.2","date":"2026-06-25T01:05:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v11.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v11.1.1","date":"2026-04-29T21:42:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v11.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v11.0.4","date":"2026-04-07T22:14:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v11.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v10.10.1","date":"2026-02-02T19:07:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v10.10.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v8.11.5","date":"2026-01-21T17:25:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.11.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v10.9.1","date":"2026-01-06T03:41:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v10.9.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v10.8.3","date":"2026-01-06T03:36:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v10.8.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v10.7.5","date":"2025-10-22T21:41:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v10.7.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v10.6.2","date":"2025-10-22T17:48:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v10.6.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v10.5.1","date":"2025-08-11T15:38:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v10.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v10.4.2","date":"2025-07-11T00:32:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v10.4.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v10.2.1","date":"2025-04-29T21:06:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v10.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v10.1.3","date":"2025-04-14T20:50:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v10.1.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v9.11.2","date":"2025-03-29T21:45:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.11.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v10.0.1","date":"2025-03-31T18:29:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v10.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v9.10.0","date":"2025-01-02T18:31:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v9.9.3","date":"2024-12-17T18:06:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.9.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v9.8.4","date":"2024-12-03T21:25:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.8.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/releases/tag/v9.7.4","date":"2024-11-01T16:39:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.7.4"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 4.5 | 7.1 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=helm&package_name=cloudpirates-memcached%2Fmemcached&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=maven&package_name=org.rocksdb%3Arocksdbjni&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Key-Value Stores)

| Capability | Memcached | RocksDB |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Storage** |  |  |
| Storage tier | In-memory | Persistent |
| Persistence | None (pure cache) | Append-only log |
| Data structures | KV-only | KV-only |
| **Protocol** |  |  |
| Wire protocol | Memcached | - |
| **Distribution** |  |  |
| Clustering | Sharded | Single-node |
| Consistency | Strong | Strong |
| **Ops** |  |  |
| Eviction / TTL policies | ✓ | - |
| Multi-threaded | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pub/Sub / streams | ✗ | - |
| Transactions / atomic ops | None | - |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Deployment | Self-hosted | Embedded |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Licence class | Permissive OSS | Copyleft |
| **Compatibility** |  |  |
| Redis API compatibility | None | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:45:09.854Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*