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Databases · head to head

Memcached vs Steampipe

M

Memcached

Databases

Distributed memory object caching system

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Steampipe logo

Steampipe

Developer Tools

Query cloud APIs, SaaS tools and code with SQL, with no extract or load step

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; Steampipe aGPL-3.0 across all four engines is a procurement blocker at organisations that ban the licence outright, and the network clause reaches any internal portal or service that puts a web interface in front of it.
  • They diverge on capability: Memcached covers In-memory key-value cache, Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Memcached and Steampipe actually diverge.

Attributes where Memcached and Steampipe differ
AttributeMemcachedSteampipe
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence fee; managed cloud billed separatelyOpen source, with paid hosting through Turbot Pipes
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hostedmacOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web
CategoryDatabasesDeveloper Tools

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 Steampipe

  • SQL over live APIs
  • Wide plugin set
  • Embedded Postgres
  • Compliance benchmarks
  • Joins across providers
  • Hosted option

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

Steampipe

  • Security teams answering posture questions against live cloud accounts rather than a nightly exportnot Memcached
  • Compliance evidence gathering where the answer must reflect the account at the moment it is askednot Memcached
  • Inventory and drift questions spanning several cloud providers in one querynot Memcached
  • Engineers who would rather write SQL than learn each provider command line toolnot 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

Steampipe

  • AGPL-3.0 across all four engines is a procurement blocker at organisations that ban the licence outright, and the network clause reaches any internal portal or service that puts a web interface in front of it.
  • Dashboards, benchmarks and mods were removed from Steampipe entirely at version 1.0 in October 2024 and now live in a separate product, so pre-2024 documentation and tutorials describe commands that no longer exist.
  • Live querying is bound by cloud provider API rate limits and keeps no persistent store by default, which is why a separate DuckDB-backed product exists for log volumes and why large accounts return slowly.
  • The company is fifteen people and bootstrapped, maintaining four command line tools plus a hosted service plus two further products, and the newer tools have thin community traction relative to that surface area.
  • Hosted tiers include only three users regardless of tier, with additional Enterprise users charged separately, so a team of thirty costs an order of magnitude more than the headline figure before compute and storage are counted.

Pricing, plan by plan

Memcached

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

Steampipe

Free
  • Steampipe CLIFree
    • AGPL-3.0
    • All plugins
    • No user or query limits
  • Pipes DeveloperFree
    • One user
    • 400 compute minutes
    • 3GB storage
  • Pipes Team$49/month
    • Three users
    • 2,000 compute minutes
    • 20GB storage
  • Pipes Enterprise$249/month
    • Three users
    • 10,000 compute minutes
    • 100GB storage

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 Steampipe if

  • You need sql over live apis.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web.
  • You also want wide plugin set.
Steampipe review

Questions people ask

Is Memcached or Steampipe better?
Neither clearly leads. Memcached starts at Free and Steampipe at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Memcached or Steampipe?
Memcached starts at Free and Steampipe at Free.
Does Memcached or Steampipe run on more platforms?
Memcached runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hosted. Steampipe runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web.
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 Steampipe is typically brought in for.
What can Memcached do that Steampipe cannot?
Memcached covers In-memory key-value cache, Multithreaded, Client-side sharding, Predictable memory use. Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs, Wide plugin set, Embedded Postgres, Compliance benchmarks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Memcached: Is Memcached free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

Steampipe: When did Steampipe become AGPL?

May 2021, about four months after the project went public. It is a settled licence rather than a recent change, and predates the Business Source Licence wave it is often confused with.

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.

Steampipe: Where did the dashboards and benchmarks go?

Into Powerpipe. They were deprecated in March 2024 and removed from Steampipe at version 1.0 in October 2024, so the check, dashboard, mod and variable commands are gone.

Memcached: Does Memcached persist data?

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

Steampipe: Is it fast on a large cloud estate?

Not always. Queries call provider APIs at request time, so rate limits rather than query planning set the pace, and there is no persistent store by default.

Steampipe: Does the AGPL affect internal use?

Running it internally for your own analysis is fine. Putting a web interface in front of it that other people use is where the network clause becomes a question for your legal team.

Steampipe: Is a bootstrapped vendor a risk?

It cuts both ways. There is no investor pressure toward a licence change or an exit, and there are also fifteen people supporting a large product surface.

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