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Databases

Free and open-source Redis alternatives

Redis (In-memory data store for caching, queues and real-time apps) is a commercial product. These 2 tools do the same job and are free to use or to self-host.
Short answer: the best free alternatives to Redis are Valkey and Dragonfly DB. Redis starts at $5/mo (Redis Cloud). Self-hosting is free; you pay only for the server (a small VPS is about $4–6/mo). Licenses and prices checked 2026-10-01.
  1. 1
    Valkey

    Open-source key-value store forked from Redis

    Linux Foundation fork of Redis 7.2.

    Open source (BSD-3-Clause) ·★ 27k GitHub stars · last commit 2026-10-07 · details

  2. 2
    Dragonfly DB

    Redis- and Memcached-compatible in-memory data store

    Redis-compatible in-memory store; free to self-host, Apache-2.0 from 2030.

    Source-available (BSL-1.1) ·★ 32k GitHub stars · last commit 2026-10-07 · details

Want paid options too? See all Redis alternatives or the full free alternatives list. Beyond developer tools, OSS Software lists more open-source Redis alternatives.

FAQ

Is there a free alternative to Redis?+

Yes. Valkey and Dragonfly DB do the same job for free; Valkey is open source.

What is the best open-source alternative to Redis?+

Valkey is the most starred on GitHub (27k stars). Linux Foundation fork of Redis 7.2.

Are these Redis alternatives open source?+

Valkey is under OSI-approved licenses. Dragonfly DB (BSL-1.1) is source-available: free to self-host, with limits in the license.

Open source: OSI-approved license. Free to self-host: the code is public and free to run yourself, with limits in the license.