Valkey vs Redis

Valkey is a BSD-licensed fork of Redis, created after Redis switched from BSD to the restrictive SSPL/RSALv2 dual license in 2024. Valkey is now a Linux Foundation project with backing from AWS, Google Cloud, Oracle, and others.

The License Split

Redis's license change to SSPL + RSALv2 restricts cloud providers from offering Redis as a managed service. This prompted major cloud providers to fork Redis 7.2.4 into Valkey, maintaining the original BSD 3-Clause license. For most users, the license change has no direct impact. For cloud providers and companies building data infrastructure products, it is significant.

Compatibility

Valkey is a direct fork of Redis 7.2.4 and is wire-compatible with Redis. Existing Redis clients, libraries, and tools work with Valkey without modification. Applications can switch from Redis to Valkey by changing the connection endpoint — no code changes needed.

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Diverging Futures

Since the fork, Valkey and Redis are diverging. Valkey is adding multi-threaded I/O improvements and community-driven features. Redis is developing Redis Stack features (JSON, Search, Time Series) that may not be available in Valkey. Over time, feature parity will decrease.

Cloud Provider Landscape

AWS has migrated ElastiCache and MemoryDB to Valkey. Google Cloud and other providers are following. Redis Ltd. offers Redis Cloud as its managed service. This means the default "Redis" in most cloud environments is actually Valkey.

The Bottom Line

Choose Valkey when you want a fully open-source, community-governed in-memory store, especially if you use cloud-managed services. Choose Redis when you need Redis Stack modules or prefer Redis Ltd.'s managed service and enterprise support. Compare pricing and see system design guides.