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Databases · head to head

Memcached vs Spring Cloud Gateway

M

Memcached

Databases

Distributed memory object caching system

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Spring Cloud Gateway logo

Spring Cloud Gateway

APIs

API gateway built on Project Reactor for building microservices

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; Spring Cloud Gateway released under the Apache 2.0 license, free and open source with no commercial tier
  • They diverge on capability: Memcached covers In-memory key-value cache, Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Memcached and Spring Cloud Gateway actually diverge.

Attributes where Memcached and Spring Cloud Gateway differ
AttributeMemcachedSpring Cloud Gateway
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence fee; managed cloud billed separatelyopen-source
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hostedJava, Spring Boot
CategoryDatabasesAPIs
FoundedUnknown1998

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 Memcached

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

Only in Spring Cloud Gateway

  • Routing
  • Path Rewriting
  • Circuit Breaker
  • Spring Boot
  • Spring Security
  • Spring Cloud
  • Java support
  • Spring Boot support

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 Spring Cloud Gateway
  • Session storage where losing sessions on restart is acceptablenot Spring Cloud Gateway
  • Fronting an API whose responses are costly and change slowlynot Spring Cloud Gateway

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • API Developmentnot Memcached
  • API Gatewaynot Memcached
  • API Testingnot Memcached
  • API Documentationnot Memcached
  • Microservicesnot 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

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • Released under the Apache 2.0 license, free and open source with no commercial tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Memcached

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

Spring Cloud Gateway

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Core Spring Cloud Gateway
    • Community support

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 Spring Cloud Gateway if

  • You need routing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Java, Spring Boot.
  • You also want path rewriting.
Spring Cloud Gateway review

Questions people ask

Is Memcached or Spring Cloud Gateway better?
Neither clearly leads. Memcached starts at Free and Spring Cloud Gateway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Memcached or Spring Cloud Gateway?
Memcached starts at Free and Spring Cloud Gateway at Free.
Does Memcached or Spring Cloud Gateway run on more platforms?
Memcached runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hosted. Spring Cloud Gateway runs on Java, Spring Boot.
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 Spring Cloud Gateway is typically brought in for.
What can Memcached do that Spring Cloud Gateway cannot?
Memcached covers In-memory key-value cache, Multithreaded, Client-side sharding, Predictable memory use. Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing, Path Rewriting, Circuit Breaker, Spring Boot.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Memcached: Is Memcached free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

Spring Cloud Gateway: Is Spring Cloud Gateway free?

Yes, Spring Cloud Gateway is free and open-source software. It is part of the Spring ecosystem and available through GitHub repositories with open-source dependencies like spring-cloud-starter-gateway-server-webflux and spring-cloud-starter-gateway-server-webmvc.

Source
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.

Spring Cloud Gateway: What enterprise support is available for Spring Cloud Gateway?

Tanzu Spring provides optional enterprise support including Day 0 access to security patches for organizations requiring guaranteed support, but specific pricing is not published on the Spring Cloud Gateway project page.

Source
Memcached: Does Memcached persist data?

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

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