Alternatives / Redis
Looking for an open source Redis alternative? We compared 2 options by license and role. Dragonfly is a Redis-compatible store under the Business Source License, while SlateDB is an embedded storage engine, not a Redis server.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| Dragonfly | Redis-compatible and multi-threaded (BSL) | BSL 1.1 (source available) |
| SlateDB | Embedded engine on object storage | Apache-2.0 |
We looked for in-memory or key-value stores that can replace Redis. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and compatibility in its repository. This list does not include forks such as Valkey. See our methodology for the full criteria.
Dragonfly is a Redis-compatible in-memory store that uses all CPU cores and works with existing Redis APIs and tooling. It is under the Business Source License 1.1, which is source available. Its throughput and cost claims are the vendor's own.
SlateDB is an Apache-2.0 embedded storage engine written in Rust that stores data on object storage, with no disk management. It supports one writer and multiple readers and is a library, not a Redis-compatible server.
Both had commits within days of this update.
Redis moved away from its permissive BSD license to source-available licenses in 2024 and added AGPL-3.0 as an option in 2025. Some teams therefore look for alternatives, but the ones here have their own license limits.
Dragonfly is a Redis-compatible in-memory data store that uses all CPU cores and works with existing Redis APIs and tooling. It is released under the Business Source License 1.1, which is source available and converts later, and its performance and cost figures are the vendor's own.
Pricing: Free to self-host under the BSL; Dragonfly Cloud is paid.
Apache-2.0 embedded LSM-tree storage engine that uses an object store such as Amazon S3 as its durable storage layer. It enables database-style systems without managing local persistent disks, but is not an S3 server or S3 replacement.
Pricing: Open-source embedded library; an underlying object store is required.
| Alternative | Type | License | Self-hosted | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragonfly | In-memory store | BSL 1.1 (source available) | Yes | Drop-in Redis replacement |
| SlateDB | Storage engine | Apache-2.0 | Embedded | Building databases |
Want a Redis-compatible server
Dragonfly works with Redis clients, under a source-available license.
Want an embedded store on object storage
SlateDB is Apache-2.0 and needs no disk management.