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Developer Tools · head to head

Okteto vs Redis

Okteto logo

Okteto

Developer Tools

Runs production-like development environments on your own Kubernetes cluster

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Redis logo

Redis

Technology

The real-time data platform

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Okteto two of the three plans publish no price at all, with no currency and no billing period stated anywhere, so any budget above five seats requires a sales conversation before you can even compare it with an alternative.; Redis licensing changed from BSD to AGPL in 2025, impacting open-source usage
  • They diverge on capability: Okteto covers Cluster development environments, Redis covers In-memory data store.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Okteto and Redis actually diverge.

Attributes where Okteto and Redis differ
AttributeOktetoRedis
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, CLI, Kubernetes, WebLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryDeveloper ToolsTechnology
FoundedUnknown2009

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 Okteto

  • Cluster development environments
  • File synchronisation
  • Development containers
  • Environment catalogue
  • Preview environments
  • Bring your own cloud

Only in Redis

  • In-memory data store
  • Data structures
  • Pub/Sub messaging
  • Lua scripting
  • Transactions
  • Persistence options
  • Replication
  • Clustering

What people use each for

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

Okteto

  • A microservices estate where no developer can run the full dependency graph on a laptopnot Redis
  • Giving each pull request a working environment reviewers can click rather than describenot Redis
  • Letting coding agents build and test against real databases and queues instead of mocksnot Redis
  • Removing a fleet of local Kubernetes installations that drift from production and produce false test resultsnot Redis

Redis

  • Cachingnot Okteto
  • Session managementnot Okteto
  • Real-time analyticsnot Okteto
  • Message queuingnot Okteto
  • Leaderboardsnot Okteto

Where each one falls short

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

Okteto

  • Two of the three plans publish no price at all, with no currency and no billing period stated anywhere, so any budget above five seats requires a sales conversation before you can even compare it with an alternative.
  • The Apache-2.0 CLI is restricted to the development section of the manifest, so build services, user management and observability all require the commercial platform and the open licence provides very little continuity insurance.
  • The last disclosed funding round is a 15 million US dollar Series A from February 2022 with nothing announced since, and the contributor base is dominated by company employees, which is concentrated risk for something embedded in every developer daily loop.
  • You must bring and pay for the Kubernetes cluster, so node cost, capacity planning and version upgrades stay with your platform team on top of the licence fee.
  • The 2026 repositioning towards AI agents means the classic developer inner loop is no longer what the marketing leads with, so a buyer purchasing that use case should confirm roadmap commitment rather than assume it.

Redis

  • Licensing changed from BSD to AGPL in 2025, impacting open-source usage
  • All data must fit in memory, limiting scalability to available RAM
  • No built-in support for multi-tenancy
  • Limited transaction support compared to traditional databases

Pricing, plan by plan

Okteto

Free
  • StarterFree
    • 5 seats included
    • Self-hosted deployment into your own cluster
    • Community support
  • Scale$undefined/year
    • Contact sales, no price, currency or billing period published
    • More seats and environments than Starter
    • Self-hosted deployment
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Contact sales, no price published
    • Bring your own cloud deployment
    • Available through Google Cloud and AWS marketplaces

Redis

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Redis review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Okteto if

  • You need cluster development environments.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, CLI, Kubernetes, Web.
  • You also want file synchronisation.
Okteto review

Choose Redis if

  • You need in-memory data store.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want data structures.
Redis review

Questions people ask

Is Okteto or Redis better?
Neither clearly leads. Okteto starts at Free and Redis at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Okteto or Redis?
Okteto starts at Free and Redis at Free.
Does Okteto or Redis run on more platforms?
Okteto runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, CLI, Kubernetes, Web. Redis runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Okteto for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Okteto best used for?
Okteto is most often used for a microservices estate where no developer can run the full dependency graph on a laptop, giving each pull request a working environment reviewers can click rather than describe, letting coding agents build and test against real databases and queues instead of mocks, removing a fleet of local kubernetes installations that drift from production and produce false test results. Of those, a microservices estate where no developer can run the full dependency graph on a laptop and giving each pull request a working environment reviewers can click rather than describe are not what Redis is typically brought in for.
What can Okteto do that Redis cannot?
Okteto covers Cluster development environments, File synchronisation, Development containers, Environment catalogue. Redis covers In-memory data store, Data structures, Pub/Sub messaging, Lua scripting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Okteto: Is Okteto open source?

The CLI is Apache-2.0, but the README states it supports only the development section of the manifest. Everything operationally interesting, including builds, user management and observability, is in the commercial platform.

Redis: Is Redis open source?

Redis was open source under the BSD license since its inception in 2009 and has remained open source. However, in 2024-2025, Redis Labs changed licensing to source-available and AGPL, prompting the creation of Valkey, a BSD-licensed open-source fork.

Source
Okteto: What does it cost?

Only the free Starter tier with five seats is published. Scale and Enterprise are both contact sales, with no price, currency or billing period disclosed on the pricing page.

Redis: What is Redis used for?

Redis is an in-memory data structure store used primarily as a cache, database, and message broker. It provides high-speed data access for real-time applications, sessions, leaderboards, real-time analytics, and other use cases requiring fast data retrieval.

Source
Okteto: Do I need my own Kubernetes cluster?

Yes. Okteto installs into a cluster you provide and pay for, so capacity, upgrades and node costs remain your responsibility in addition to the licence.

Okteto: How is this different from running Kubernetes locally?

Environments run against the same managed databases, queues and service mesh as production, so a class of failures that only appears in a real cluster is caught before merge rather than after deploy.

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