# RocksDB vs Valkey

| Attribute | RocksDB | Valkey |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 61 (48% (low)) | 56.2 (43% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 72 | 91 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 2,684 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 32,011 | 26,989 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 1,832 | - |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | A Linux Foundation-backed open-source database server for storing and managing key-value data. Supports multiple data types and deployment modes ranging from single-node setups to distributed clusters, serving caching, message queue, and primary database use cases. |
| features.capabilities | `{"clustering":"single_node","deployment":"embedded","consistency":"strong","persistence":"append_log","storage_tier":"persistent","licence_class":"copyleft","multi_threaded":true,"data_structures":"kv_only"}` | `{"clustering":"sharded","deployment":"self_hosted","persistence":"snapshot","eviction_ttl":true,"storage_tier":"persistent","licence_class":"permissive","multi_threaded":true,"pubsub_streams":true,"data_structures":"rich_types","redis_api_compat":"full"}` |
| integrations.count | - | 1 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"Harbor"}]` |
| language.primary | C++ | C |
| license.spdx | GPL-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| platform.support | `{"linux":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://rocksdb.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T21:39:20.137Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://valkey.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T21:34:40.624Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | commercial |
| 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"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/9.1.1","date":"2026-07-21T23:41:58Z","type":"stable","version":"9.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/9.0.5","date":"2026-07-21T23:40:40Z","type":"stable","version":"9.0.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/8.1.9","date":"2026-07-21T23:38:25Z","type":"stable","version":"8.1.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/8.0.10","date":"2026-07-21T23:37:16Z","type":"stable","version":"8.0.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/7.2.14","date":"2026-07-21T21:35:40Z","type":"stable","version":"7.2.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/8.1.8","date":"2026-06-02T18:12:16Z","type":"stable","version":"8.1.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/9.1.0","date":"2026-05-19T15:05:52Z","type":"stable","version":"9.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/9.0.4","date":"2026-05-06T04:00:07Z","type":"stable","version":"9.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/8.1.7","date":"2026-05-06T04:00:12Z","type":"stable","version":"8.1.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/8.0.9","date":"2026-05-06T16:19:13Z","type":"stable","version":"8.0.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/7.2.13","date":"2026-05-06T04:00:21Z","type":"stable","version":"7.2.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/8.0.8","date":"2026-05-06T04:00:15Z","type":"stable","version":"8.0.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/9.1.0-rc2","date":"2026-04-28T17:33:18Z","type":"prerelease","version":"9.1.0-rc2"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/9.1.0-rc1","date":"2026-03-16T23:42:03Z","type":"prerelease","version":"9.1.0-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/9.0.3","date":"2026-02-24T04:06:53Z","type":"stable","version":"9.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/8.1.6","date":"2026-02-24T04:00:30Z","type":"stable","version":"8.1.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/8.0.7","date":"2026-02-24T03:54:23Z","type":"stable","version":"8.0.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/7.2.12","date":"2026-02-24T02:03:12Z","type":"stable","version":"7.2.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/9.0.2","date":"2026-02-03T12:53:37Z","type":"stable","version":"9.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/valkey-io/valkey/releases/tag/9.0.1","date":"2025-12-09T18:13:25Z","type":"stable","version":"9.0.1"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 7.1 | 6.2 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"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}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fvalkey-io%2Fvalkey&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Key-Value Stores)

| Capability | RocksDB | Valkey |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Storage** |  |  |
| Storage tier | Persistent | Persistent |
| Persistence | Append-only log | Snapshot (RDB) |
| Data structures | KV-only | Rich types |
| **Protocol** |  |  |
| Wire protocol | - | - |
| **Distribution** |  |  |
| Clustering | Single-node | Sharded |
| Consistency | Strong | - |
| **Ops** |  |  |
| Eviction / TTL policies | - | ✓ |
| Multi-threaded | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pub/Sub / streams | - | ✓ |
| Transactions / atomic ops | - | - |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Deployment | Embedded | Self-hosted |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Licence class | Copyleft | Permissive OSS |
| **Compatibility** |  |  |
| Redis API compatibility | - | Full |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T15:02:51.646Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*