See what Redis costs in 2026, how its AGPLv3 licensing works after the 2024-2025 changes, and whether the in-memory database fits your stack.
Category
Databases
Pricing
Freemium and usage-based: Redis Open Source is free to self-host; managed Redis Cloud offers free, pay-as-you-go, and enterprise tiers, from Free (Redis Open Source and Redis Cloud free tier); Redis Cloud paid plans start around $5/month (Essentials) with Pro from about $200/month
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 19, 2026
Founded
2011
Headquarters
San Francisco, California, United States
Free PlanWeb AppAPIOpen SourceAIFreemium
Overview
Redis began as a personal project by Salvatore Sanfilippo in 2009 and has grown into one of the most widely deployed in-memory data stores in the world, used as a cache, primary database, message broker, and streaming engine by companies of all sizes.
The company behind Redis, Redis Ltd. (formerly Redis Labs), is headquartered in San Francisco and has roughly 1,500 employees. Its licensing history is notable: a March 2024 shift away from BSD to source-available licenses (RSALv2/SSPLv1) triggered the Valkey community fork, before Redis reversed course in May 2025 and adopted a tri-license including AGPLv3 for Redis 8 and later.
Key Features
Redis supports rich native data structures beyond simple key-value pairs, including hashes, lists, sets, sorted sets, streams, and geospatial indexes, all operating in memory for sub-millisecond latency.
Recent versions bundle capabilities that were previously separate Redis Stack modules, such as full-text search (RediSearch), native JSON support (RedisJSON), time-series data (RedisTimeSeries), and probabilistic data structures (RedisBloom), plus vector search for AI and RAG applications.
Pricing
Redis Open Source is free to download and self-host under the current tri-license (AGPLv3, RSALv2, SSPLv1). For teams that prefer a managed service, Redis Cloud offers a free tier (30 MB), Essentials plans from about 5 to 216 dollars per month, and Pro plans starting around 200 dollars per month with multi-AZ high availability and a 99.999 percent SLA.
Enterprise and self-managed Redis Software deployments are available with custom pricing for organizations with specific compliance, on-premises, or private-cloud requirements.
Key Features
In-memory data structures — Native support for strings, hashes, lists, sets, sorted sets, and streams enables far more than simple key-value caching.
Persistence options — RDB snapshotting and append-only file (AOF) logging let Redis balance performance with durability.
Pub/Sub and streams — Built-in publish/subscribe messaging and Redis Streams support real-time event and messaging architectures.
Bundled search and JSON — RediSearch and RedisJSON capabilities are now built into Redis 8, enabling full-text search and native JSON document storage.
Replication and clustering — Redis Cluster and replication provide horizontal scaling and high availability for production workloads.
Vector search for AI/RAG — Native vector data types and similarity search support retrieval-augmented generation and AI application backends.
Lua scripting and functions — Server-side scripting allows atomic, custom logic to run directly inside Redis.
Broad client ecosystem — Official and community-maintained client libraries exist for nearly every major programming language.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Extremely fast in-memory performance for caching and real-time workloads
Rich set of native data structures beyond simple key-value pairs
Now available under AGPLv3, restoring OSI-recognized open-source licensing as of Redis 8
Large ecosystem of client libraries and community tooling
Managed Redis Cloud reduces operational overhead for teams that do not want to self-host
Built-in vector search suits modern AI and RAG use cases
Cons
The 2024 licensing change to SSPL/RSALv2 damaged community trust, even after the 2025 AGPL reversal
In-memory model means data sets are constrained by available RAM, raising costs at scale
Some advanced enterprise features still require the commercial Redis Cloud or Redis Software tiers
The Valkey fork (Linux Foundation) has pulled some contributors and users away from Redis
Complex multi-node cluster configurations require real operational expertise
Data durability requires careful persistence tuning between RDB and AOF trade-offs
Pricing
Redis Open Source Free n/a
Redis Cloud Free $0 monthly
Redis Cloud Essentials From approximately $5 to $216 monthly
Redis Cloud Pro From approximately $200 monthly
Redis Enterprise/Software Custom annual/custom
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Redis free to use?
Yes. Redis Open Source is free to self-host under its current tri-license, which includes the AGPLv3 open-source license alongside RSALv2 and SSPLv1.
What license does Redis use in 2026?
Redis 8 and later versions ship under a tri-license: AGPLv3, RSALv2, and SSPLv1, adopted in May 2025 after the March 2024 move away from BSD licensing.
What is the difference between Redis and Valkey?
Valkey is a community fork of Redis created by the Linux Foundation in response to Redis's March 2024 licensing change; it remains under the original BSD-style permissive license.
Who created Redis?
Salvatore Sanfilippo (antirez) created Redis in 2009; the commercial company behind it, now Redis Ltd., was founded in 2011.
What does Redis Cloud cost?
Redis Cloud has a free tier (30 MB), Essentials plans from about 5 to 216 dollars per month, and Pro plans starting around 200 dollars per month.
Can I self-host Redis for free?
Yes, Redis Open Source can be self-hosted at no cost under its current AGPLv3-inclusive license.
What is Redis commonly used for?
Caching, session storage, real-time analytics, message brokering, rate limiting, and increasingly vector search for AI applications.
Who owns Redis?
Redis Ltd. (formerly Redis Labs), headquartered in San Francisco, California, owns and develops Redis.