Amazon MemoryDB

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What Amazon MemoryDB is

Amazon MemoryDB is a durable in-memory database service compatible with Valkey and Redis OSS. It is designed for workloads such as real-time generative AI applications, web and mobile apps, online games, and media streaming. The service keeps the full dataset in memory; AWS describes read latency in microseconds and write latency in single-digit milliseconds. A distributed transactional log and storage across multiple Availability Zones support durability, consistency, and recovery. MemoryDB supports Valkey and Redis OSS data types, parameters, and commands, except admin commands. Clusters can scale through node changes, sharding for writes, and replicas for reads. Multi-Region supports active-active replication and up to 99.999% availability, but does not support data tiering or vector search. Users can manage clusters through the AWS Management Console, CLI, or SDK, with CloudWatch metrics and automatic software patching. It runs in Amazon VPC, supports encryption at rest through AWS KMS and TLS in transit, and Graviton2 nodes include always-on 256-bit DRAM encryption. There is no free plan. On-demand nodes are billed by instance hour, and data written costs $0.20/GB.

Who it suits

MemoryDB suits teams needing a durable, fast primary database compatible with Valkey or Redis OSS. Its stated use cases include real-time generative AI, web and mobile apps, online games, and media streaming.

What it does well

Supports Valkey and Redis OSS data types, parameters, and commands.
Scales reads with replicas and writes with sharding.
Multi-Region supports active-active replication.
Provides encryption at rest and in transit.
Offers CloudWatch metrics and automatic software patching.

What to know first

No free plan.
Data written costs $0.20/GB.
Multi-Region does not support data tiering or vector search.
Data tiering can add latency on first access to less-used items.

Limits

Multi-Region does not support data tiering or vector search. Data tiering is intended for workloads regularly accessing up to 20% of data and accepting extra latency on first access to less-used items.

Plans

Plan	Billed and limits	Price
On-demand nodes	By instance hour, with no long-term commitment or upfront fee; node type affects compute, storage, and network throughput. · Additional charges may apply for data written, snapshots, and data transfer	On request
Reserved nodes	One-year or three-year terms; payment options are No Upfront, Partial Upfront, or All Upfront. · Discount applies to reserved node usage; regional and node-family restrictions apply	On request

As aws.amazon.com lists them, read 8 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.

Getting started

Open the Amazon MemoryDB website
Choose the AWS Management Console, CLI, or SDK
Create a MemoryDB cluster
Select node counts or node types
Configure shards for writes and replicas for reads
Use the supported Valkey Cluster, Redis OSS Cluster, or HTTPS protocol

Verdict

Amazon MemoryDB combines in-memory performance with durability, scaling options, and Valkey and Redis OSS compatibility. Review the per-instance-hour and data-written charges, along with the stated Multi-Region limitations, before choosing it.

Questions

Does MemoryDB have a free plan?

No. Amazon MemoryDB uses paid pricing.

How are on-demand nodes billed?

On-demand nodes are billed by instance hour, with no long-term commitment or upfront fee. Data written costs $0.20/GB; reads have no associated data-written charge.

What persistence and deployment options are supported?

MemoryDB is cloud deployed and supports both listed persistence modes.

Which protocols can applications use?

Supported protocols are Valkey Cluster protocol, Redis OSS Cluster protocol, and HTTPS.

What encryption does MemoryDB provide?

It supports encryption at rest through AWS KMS and encryption in transit with TLS. Graviton2 nodes include always-on 256-bit DRAM encryption.

Facts from Amazon MemoryDB's own pages

AWS company: Amazon Web Services says it launched in 2006 and is part of Amazon. · aws.amazon.com, 8 Oct 2026
Compatibility: MemoryDB supports Valkey and Redis OSS data types, parameters, and commands, with the FAQ noting that admin commands are excluded. · aws.amazon.com, 8 Oct 2026
Data tiering limit: AWS says data tiering is intended for workloads that regularly access up to 20% of their data and can tolerate extra latency on first access to less frequently used items. · aws.amazon.com, 8 Oct 2026
Durability: MemoryDB uses a distributed transactional log and stores data across multiple Availability Zones for durability, consistency, and recovery. · aws.amazon.com, 8 Oct 2026
Management and integrations: Users can create clusters with the AWS Management Console, CLI, or SDK, and MemoryDB provides Amazon CloudWatch metrics and automatic software patching. · aws.amazon.com, 8 Oct 2026
Multi-Region: MemoryDB Multi-Region supports active-active replication and up to 99.999% availability; AWS says it does not support data tiering or vector search. · aws.amazon.com, 8 Oct 2026
Performance: AWS says MemoryDB stores the full dataset in memory and provides microsecond read latency and single-digit millisecond write latency. · aws.amazon.com, 8 Oct 2026
Pricing: On-demand nodes are billed by instance hour; data written is priced at $0.20/GB, while reads have no associated data-written charge. · aws.amazon.com, 8 Oct 2026
Scaling: Clusters can scale by changing node counts or node types, and by using sharding for write scaling and replicas for read scaling. · aws.amazon.com, 8 Oct 2026
Security: MemoryDB runs in Amazon VPC, supports encryption at rest through AWS KMS and encryption in transit with TLS, and Graviton2 nodes include always-on 256-bit DRAM encryption. · aws.amazon.com, 8 Oct 2026
Use cases: AWS describes use cases including real-time generative AI applications, web and mobile apps, online games, and media streaming. · aws.amazon.com, 8 Oct 2026
What it does: Amazon MemoryDB is a Valkey- and Redis OSS-compatible durable in-memory database service. · aws.amazon.com, 8 Oct 2026
Who it is for: AWS positions MemoryDB for workloads needing a durable, ultra-fast Valkey- or Redis OSS-compatible primary database. · aws.amazon.com, 8 Oct 2026