Explainer

Valkey vs Redis, explained for teams watching the bill.

Valkey is an open-source, in-memory key-value store and a fork of Redis 7.2.4, stewarded by the Linux Foundation under the permissive BSD-3-Clause license. If you already run Redis, Valkey speaks the same protocol and the same commands — the practical differences are about licensing, governance, and who pays for what, not a different developer experience.

How Valkey and Redis compare today

This compares the open-source engines, not managed services. Treat it as a starting map, then verify against your own command set and version.

Will my Redis client work with Valkey?

In most cases, yes — point your existing client at the Valkey endpoint and keep your code. Because Valkey preserves the RESP protocol and the Redis 7.2 command surface, the libraries teams ask about most connect unchanged:

The exception to watch: code that depends on the Upstash REST API or the @upstash/redis HTTP client talks over HTTPS, not RESP, so it needs a normal TCP Redis client to move. Confirm RESP3 push messages, server-side modules, and Lua scripts against your specific version before a production cutover.

Why this matters for cost

Because Valkey is permissively licensed and protocol-compatible with Redis, a managed provider can run it on ordinary infrastructure and price it however they choose. That is where bills diverge. Serverless Redis-compatible providers often charge per command or per request — for example, a common pay-as-you-go rate is around $0.20 per 100K commands. For a steady, high-volume workload, per-command pricing can grow faster than the underlying compute and memory actually cost.

Steada's bet is that pricing anchored on capacity, with far lower per-command and per-GiB rates, is cheaper for those steady workloads. That is a target pricing model, not a measured guarantee or a public offer — so instead of asking you to trust a headline number, the calculator shows the formula and the source dates behind every input.

Frequently asked questions

What is Valkey?

Valkey is an open-source, in-memory key-value data store. It is a fork of Redis 7.2.4, created in 2024 and stewarded by the Linux Foundation under the permissive BSD-3-Clause license. It keeps the same data structures, commands, and RESP wire protocol that Redis users already know.

Why did Valkey fork from Redis?

In March 2024, Redis Ltd. changed the Redis license from the permissive BSD-3-Clause to a dual RSALv2 / SSPLv1 model, which is not an OSI-approved open-source license. Days later, former contributors and cloud providers forked the last BSD-licensed release (Redis 7.2.4) as Valkey and donated it to the Linux Foundation, with backing from AWS, Google Cloud, and Oracle.

Is Valkey compatible with Redis?

Valkey forked from Redis 7.2.4, so it speaks the same RESP protocol and supports the same core commands. Existing Redis clients, libraries, and connection strings generally work against Valkey without code changes. Compatibility with newer Redis 8.x-only features is not guaranteed, since the two projects now develop independently.

Is Valkey free and open source?

Yes. Valkey is distributed under the BSD-3-Clause license — an OSI-approved permissive license with no restrictions on commercial use, modification, or redistribution beyond attribution. There are no per-core or managed-service licensing fees from the project itself.

Can I keep my existing Redis client with Valkey?

In most cases, yes. Because Valkey preserves the RESP protocol and the Redis 7.2 command surface, standard Redis client libraries connect to a Valkey endpoint the same way they connect to Redis. You should still test your specific command set and any modules or Lua scripts before migrating a production workload.

How is Steada related to Valkey?

Steada is building a cost-first managed Valkey service, currently in an invite-only controlled beta. Steada is not affiliated with the Valkey project or the Linux Foundation. During the controlled beta there is no SLA, no general availability, and no compliance certification — Steada validates pricing, benchmarks, and operational evidence with design partners first.