Side by side

Caffeine vs Varnish Cache

Both stand on caching software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Caffeine

Free plan Self-hosted

Caffeine provides Java applications with configurable in-memory caching, including asynchronous loading and refresh. Check the Java version guidance before choosing between the 3.x and 2.x releases.

Visit Caffeine

Varnish Cache combines memory-based response caching with configurable policies, TLS support, and tools for logging and metrics. Check supported releases and assess whether your application needs configuration changes to reach its desired cache hit rate.

Visit Varnish Cache

The facts

	Caffeine	Varnish Cache
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	Self-hosted	Linux, Self-hosted
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	Free or on request
Plans published	1	1
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	github.com	varnish.org
On caching software	#9 of 27	#13 of 27

Caffeine: what it does well

Free and open source under Apache License 2.0
Supports asynchronous loading and refresh
Offers size-, frequency- and recency-based eviction
Includes JCache and Guava adapters
Provides cache statistics and removal notifications

What to know first

Version 3.x requires Java 11 or above
The library is for in-memory caching, not edge caching

Varnish Cache: what it does well

Free plan listed as free
VCL caching policies compile to native code
Supports in-process TLS termination and dynamic backends
Official container images and Kubernetes Helm chart
Includes structured logs and metrics tools

What to know first

Applications may need changes for a high cache hit rate
Unlisted releases are end-of-life and unsupported
Does not cache data unless it can determine caching is safe

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