Managed Redis, Memcached, and Valkey: AWS, GCP, Aiven, Upstash, Redis Cloud (2026)
The 2026 reality: AWS ElastiCache and Google Memorystore default to Valkey for new deployments. If you created a new cluster recently, you may already be on Valkey.
| Provider | Service | Defaults to | License-friendly | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS | ElastiCache | Valkey | Yes | Default for new deployments since late 2024. Memcached and Redis OSS still available as choices. |
| AWS | MemoryDB | Valkey | Yes | Persistent, multi-AZ, Valkey-based. Strong durability guarantees. |
| Google Cloud | Memorystore for Valkey | Valkey | Yes | Default for new instances since 2025. Recommended path for new GCP deployments. |
| Google Cloud | Memorystore for Redis | Redis OSS | Depends | Legacy track. Kept for existing customers. Still available for Redis 7.x. |
| Google Cloud | Memorystore for Memcached | Memcached | Yes | Separate managed Memcached service. Continues for existing workloads. |
| Aiven | Aiven for Valkey | Valkey | Yes | Primary Aiven caching offering. Cited ~20% cost savings vs equivalent Redis Cloud. |
| Aiven | Aiven for Redis | Redis | Limited | Legacy support. Migration to Aiven for Valkey recommended. |
| Upstash | Upstash Redis | Redis | Depends | Serverless, REST + RESP, pay-per-request. Strong for spiky/low-traffic workloads. |
| Redis Inc | Redis Cloud | Redis 8.0 | Depends on use | Vector sets, hash field TTL, commercial support contracts. Redis 8.0 tri-license. |
| DragonflyDB | DragonflyDB Cloud | DragonflyDB | Permissive | Redis-RESP-compatible but separate codebase. Multi-threaded. Separate eval for new builds. |
AWS ElastiCache reality (2026)
Late 2024, AWS migrated ElastiCache defaults to Valkey for new deployments. This was a direct response to Redis's SSPL license change: SSPLv1 makes the managed-service business model legally fraught for AWS. Valkey's BSD license removes that risk. If you create a new ElastiCache cluster today, Valkey is the default engine. Memcached and Redis OSS remain available as explicit choices. Existing Redis OSS clusters are not automatically migrated. Source: TechCrunch March 2024, AWS ElastiCache docs.
Source →Google Cloud Memorystore reality (2026)
Memorystore for Valkey launched in 2025 and is now the default for new instance creation. Memorystore for Redis remains available for existing customers on older Redis versions. Memorystore for Memcached has been a separate product for years and continues. If you are creating a new GCP in-memory store today, Memorystore for Valkey is the recommended and default path.
Self-hosted vs managed
For most production workloads, managed wins on total cost: instance cost + operations time + downtime risk. Self-hosted Redis or Valkey on a single VM is straightforward and cheap for development or low-traffic production. Self-hosted Redis Cluster with multi-AZ replication and automatic failover is real engineering work (Sentinel or Cluster mode, six nodes minimum for HA). The platform team that owns self-hosted Redis at scale has a dedicated operational burden. If you have a platform team and the workload justifies it, self-hosted gives you full control. If not, managed is the pragmatic choice. Sticking with self-hosted as your organisation scales accumulates platform engineering debt.
Source →The DragonflyDB question
DragonflyDB is a separate codebase from Redis and Valkey, Redis-RESP-compatible, multi-threaded by design. Claims 25x fewer nodes than Redis at equivalent throughput. Permissive licensing for the community edition. Worth evaluating for new builds where you want multi-threaded performance and cannot run Memcached. Not a drop-in for existing Redis Stack-using shops (no RedisJSON, RediSearch). The managed DragonflyDB Cloud is available for cloud deployments.
Verdict: 2026
On AWS or GCP, Valkey is the 2026 default. On Aiven, Valkey saves money. On Upstash, the question is workload shape, not engine. Redis Cloud is the path if you need Redis 8.0-specific features (vector sets, hash field TTL) or commercial Redis Inc SLAs. Self-hosting is a tech-debt accumulator unless you have a dedicated platform team. The full stack cost lens: techstackcost.com