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Jenkins vs Memcached

Jenkins logo

Jenkins

Technology

A self-hosted automation server that can build almost anything, through a plugin ecosystem that is also its main liability.

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
M

Memcached

Databases

Distributed memory object caching system

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Jenkins the controller is stateful and, in the open source distribution, has no high availability: build history, configuration and plugin state live on one filesystem, so every plugin upgrade and core update is downtime for every team using it, and a controller disk failure is a restore-from-backup event.; Memcached no persistence at all: restart a node and its cache is gone, which every design must assume
  • They diverge on capability: Jenkins covers Plugin ecosystem, Memcached covers In-memory key-value cache.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Jenkins and Memcached actually diverge.

Attributes where Jenkins and Memcached differ
AttributeJenkinsMemcached
Pricing modelopen-sourceOpen source, no licence fee; managed cloud billed separately
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Macos, DockerLinux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hosted
CategoryTechnologyDatabases
Founded2011Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Jenkins

  • Plugin ecosystem
  • Distributed agents
  • Declarative and scripted pipelines
  • Shared libraries
  • Configuration as Code
  • Credentials management
  • Self-hosted anywhere
  • Multibranch and organisation folders

Only in Memcached

  • In-memory key-value cache
  • Multithreaded
  • Client-side sharding
  • Predictable memory use

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Jenkins

  • Builds that must touch physical hardware, such as embedded devices, test rigs or signing modules attached to a specific machinenot Memcached
  • Air-gapped or heavily regulated environments where a hosted CI runner cannot be used at allnot Memcached
  • Toolchains that hosted CI does not support, including node-locked commercial licences for EDA, CAD or simulation softwarenot Memcached
  • Organisations with years of existing Jenkins pipelines where the migration cost currently outweighs the operational cost of stayingnot Memcached

Memcached

  • Caching expensive database query results to cut loadnot Jenkins
  • Session storage where losing sessions on restart is acceptablenot Jenkins
  • Fronting an API whose responses are costly and change slowlynot Jenkins

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Jenkins

  • The controller is stateful and, in the open source distribution, has no high availability: build history, configuration and plugin state live on one filesystem, so every plugin upgrade and core update is downtime for every team using it, and a controller disk failure is a restore-from-backup event.
  • Capability comes from around 1,900 community plugins of very uneven maintenance, and the Jenkins security team regularly publishes advisories for plugins whose maintainer has gone; in some cases the advisory itself states that no fix is available and the only remedy is to stop using it.
  • Plugin upgrades are coupled: one plugin can require a newer core or a newer version of another plugin, so applying a single security fix cascades into a coordinated upgrade of a dozen components on a timetable you did not choose.
  • Pipelines are Groovy running under a sandbox and a continuation-passing-style transformation, so ordinary Groovy constructs sometimes fail in non-obvious ways, and the debugging skill you build transfers to no other CI system.
  • It is free to licence and expensive to run: somebody must own the controller, the agents, the Java version, the credentials store and the plugin upgrade cycle, and that recurring staff cost is the usual reason organisations move to hosted CI even when Jenkins works.
  • Leaving is costly by construction, because shared libraries, plugin-specific pipeline steps and accumulated freestyle jobs have no mechanical translation into GitHub Actions or GitLab CI, so the migration is a rewrite whose price grows every year you defer it.

Memcached

  • No persistence at all: restart a node and its cache is gone, which every design must assume
  • No replication or failover, so losing a node loses that share of the cache
  • Only simple key-value, with none of the lists, sorted sets or streams Redis offers
  • Values are capped at 1MB by default, which surprises teams caching large documents

Pricing, plan by plan

Jenkins

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Unlimited builds
    • 1000+ plugins
    • Self-hosted
  • CloudBees CI$undefined/month
    • Enterprise features
    • High availability
    • Role-based access

Memcached

Free
  • MemcachedFree
    • Full functionality
    • Self-hosted
    • No usage limits

Which should you pick?

Choose Jenkins if

  • You need plugin ecosystem.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Macos, Docker.
  • You also want distributed agents.
Jenkins review

Choose Memcached if

  • You need in-memory key-value cache.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hosted.
  • You also want multithreaded.
Memcached review

Questions people ask

Is Jenkins or Memcached better?
Neither clearly leads. Jenkins starts at Free and Memcached at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Jenkins or Memcached?
Jenkins starts at Free and Memcached at Free.
Does Jenkins or Memcached run on more platforms?
Jenkins runs on Linux, Windows, Macos, Docker. Memcached runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hosted.
Can I use Jenkins for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Jenkins best used for?
Jenkins is most often used for builds that must touch physical hardware, such as embedded devices, test rigs or signing modules attached to a specific machine, air-gapped or heavily regulated environments where a hosted ci runner cannot be used at all, toolchains that hosted ci does not support, including node-locked commercial licences for eda, cad or simulation software, organisations with years of existing jenkins pipelines where the migration cost currently outweighs the operational cost of staying. Of those, builds that must touch physical hardware, such as embedded devices, test rigs or signing modules attached to a specific machine and air-gapped or heavily regulated environments where a hosted ci runner cannot be used at all are not what Memcached is typically brought in for.
What can Jenkins do that Memcached cannot?
Jenkins covers Plugin ecosystem, Distributed agents, Declarative and scripted pipelines, Shared libraries. Memcached covers In-memory key-value cache, Multithreaded, Client-side sharding, Predictable memory use.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Jenkins: Why choose Jenkins over GitHub Actions or GitLab CI?

When the build needs something hosted runners cannot give you: physical hardware, an air-gapped network, a node-locked commercial tool licence, or an unusual platform. If none of those apply, hosted CI is usually less work to own.

Memcached: Is Memcached free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

Jenkins: Can Jenkins run in high availability?

Not in the open source distribution, which runs a single active controller. High availability and active-active controllers are features of CloudBees' commercial products. Open source deployments mitigate it with fast restores and, sometimes, multiple independent controllers.

Memcached: Memcached or Redis?

Memcached is a pure cache: simpler, multithreaded and very predictable. Redis adds persistence, replication and rich data structures, which is why it is the default choice unless you specifically want a cache and nothing more.

Jenkins: How risky are the plugins?

This is the main operational risk. Many plugins have a single volunteer maintainer, and Jenkins publishes security advisories for unmaintained plugins where no fix exists. Auditing which plugins you depend on and who maintains them should be a periodic task, not a one-off.

Memcached: Does Memcached persist data?

No. Everything is in memory and lost on restart, by design.

Jenkins: Do I need to know Groovy?

For declarative pipelines you can go a long way without it. Anything involving shared libraries, conditional logic or custom steps is Groovy, and it runs in a sandboxed, transformed environment where standard Groovy idioms sometimes behave unexpectedly.

Jenkins: What does it cost?

The software is free under the MIT licence. The cost is infrastructure and staff time to run controllers, agents and upgrades, plus a CloudBees subscription if you want high availability, support or centralised management of many controllers.

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