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Databases · head to head

Memcached vs RisingWave

M

Memcached

Databases

Distributed memory object caching system

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
RisingWave logo

RisingWave

Databases

Streaming database that maintains incremental materialised views in SQL instead of Flink jobs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Memcached no persistence at all: restart a node and its cache is gone, which every design must assume; RisingWave anything that does not fit SQL, such as custom windowing, complex event processing or heavy stateful logic, still needs Flink, so RisingWave often adds a system rather than removing one.
  • They diverge on capability: Memcached covers In-memory key-value cache, RisingWave covers SQL materialised views.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Memcached and RisingWave actually diverge.

Attributes where Memcached and RisingWave differ
AttributeMemcachedRisingWave
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence fee; managed cloud billed separatelyPer RisingWave Unit hour
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hostedLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud

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

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 Memcached

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

Only in RisingWave

  • SQL materialised views
  • Postgres wire compatibility
  • Object storage state
  • Source connectors
  • Sink connectors
  • Iceberg tables
  • Watermarks and windowing
  • User defined functions

What people use each for

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

Memcached

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

RisingWave

  • A team with Kafka topics that needs continuously fresh aggregates for a dashboard without standing up a Flink clusternot Memcached
  • A fraud or risk team maintaining rolling counters and joins across event streams expressed as SQL viewsnot Memcached
  • A company doing Postgres CDC into a real-time denormalised view for search or servingnot Memcached
  • An analytics group that wants streaming results landed directly into Apache Iceberg without a separate writer jobnot Memcached

Where each one falls short

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

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

RisingWave

  • Anything that does not fit SQL, such as custom windowing, complex event processing or heavy stateful logic, still needs Flink, so RisingWave often adds a system rather than removing one.
  • The Apache 2.0 community edition excludes premium features behind a licence key, and which capabilities sit on which side of that line moves between releases, so a self-hosted plan can be invalidated by an upgrade.
  • Long-running materialised views accumulate state in object storage, and cost and recovery time grow with retention in ways that are hard to forecast before you are in production.
  • The Postgres compatibility is protocol level; it is not a transactional Postgres and using it as a general purpose database, with point updates or high write concurrency, goes badly.
  • It is a comparatively young venture-funded project competing with Flink, Materialize and warehouse-native streaming, and the ecosystem of connectors, operators and third-party expertise is much thinner.

Pricing, plan by plan

Memcached

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

RisingWave

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Apache 2.0 licence, self-hosted
    • Core streaming engine and connectors
    • Premium features excluded and require a licence key
  • Cloud Basic$0.227/hour
    • Billed per RisingWave Unit hour
    • Hosted on AWS, GCP or Azure
    • Capped at 64 cores
  • Cloud Pro$undefined/year
    • No core limit
    • Bring your own cloud option
    • Premium features included
  • Self-managed Enterprise$undefined/year
    • On premises or Kubernetes
    • Premium features unlocked by licence
    • Annual contract with SLA

Which should you pick?

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

Choose RisingWave if

  • You need sql materialised views.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want postgres wire compatibility.
RisingWave review

Questions people ask

Is Memcached or RisingWave better?
Neither clearly leads. Memcached starts at Free and RisingWave at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Memcached or RisingWave?
Memcached starts at Free and RisingWave at Free.
Does Memcached or RisingWave run on more platforms?
Memcached runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hosted. RisingWave runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use Memcached for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Memcached best used for?
Memcached is most often used for caching expensive database query results to cut load, session storage where losing sessions on restart is acceptable, fronting an api whose responses are costly and change slowly. Of those, caching expensive database query results to cut load and session storage where losing sessions on restart is acceptable are not what RisingWave is typically brought in for.
What can Memcached do that RisingWave cannot?
Memcached covers In-memory key-value cache, Multithreaded, Client-side sharding, Predictable memory use. RisingWave covers SQL materialised views, Postgres wire compatibility, Object storage state, Source connectors.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Memcached: Is Memcached free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

RisingWave: Is RisingWave open source?

The community edition is Apache 2.0 and self-hostable, but a set of premium features requires a paid licence key.

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.

RisingWave: What does the cloud cost?

It starts at 0.227 US dollars per RisingWave Unit hour on the Basic tier, which is capped at 64 cores.

Memcached: Does Memcached persist data?

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

RisingWave: Does it replace Flink?

For SQL-expressible transformations, often yes. For custom stateful processing and complex event handling, no.

RisingWave: Can I query it like Postgres?

Yes over the Postgres wire protocol, but it is an analytical streaming engine, not a transactional database.

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