Is RavenDB or Valkey better?

Neither clearly leads. RavenDB starts at Free and Valkey at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, RavenDB or Valkey?

RavenDB starts at Free and Valkey at Free.

Does RavenDB or Valkey run on more platforms?

RavenDB runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web. Valkey runs on Linux, macOS, Docker, Self-hosted.

Can I use RavenDB for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is RavenDB best used for?

RavenDB is most often used for running a distributed document database with acid transactions, self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardware, replicating operational data out to analytics systems through etl. Of those, running a distributed document database with acid transactions and self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardware are not what Valkey is typically brought in for.

What can RavenDB do that Valkey cannot?

RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, Auto-indexing, Full-text Search, Graph Queries. Valkey covers Redis-compatible, BSD licensed, Rich data structures, Replication and persistence.

Databases · head to head

RavenDB vs Valkey

RavenDB

Databases

The fully transactional NoSQL document database

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Valkey

Databases

Open-source in-memory data store forked from Redis

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: RavenDB the free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal; Valkey younger project, so its track record is short even though the codebase is not
They diverge on capability: RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, Valkey covers Redis-compatible.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which RavenDB and Valkey actually diverge.

Attributes where RavenDB and Valkey differ
Attribute	RavenDB	Valkey
Pricing model	freemium	Open source, no licence fee; managed cloud billed separately
Platforms	Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web	Linux, macOS, Docker, Self-hosted
Founded	2010	Unknown

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 RavenDB

ACID Transactions
Auto-indexing
Full-text Search
Graph Queries
Distributed Counters
Time Series
Document Compression
.NET

Only in Valkey

Redis-compatible
BSD licensed
Rich data structures
Replication and persistence

What people use each for

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

RavenDB

Running a distributed document database with ACID transactionsnot Valkey
Self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardwarenot Valkey
Replicating operational data out to analytics systems through ETLnot Valkey

Valkey

Continuing on a permissively licensed in-memory store after the Redis licence changenot RavenDB
Caching and session storage where a foundation-governed project is a procurement requirementnot RavenDB
Migrating from Redis without rewriting application codenot RavenDB

Where each one falls short

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

RavenDB

The free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal
The free Community licence caps a customer at 60 cores and forces you to stay on the latest major version
The Professional licence is limited to a single database, a 5 node cluster, 40 cores and 240 GB RAM
Sharding across nodes, ETL to OLAP, Elasticsearch and Kafka, and data archival are Enterprise only
Enterprise and AI licence pricing is contact us only with no published rate

Valkey

Younger project, so its track record is short even though the codebase is not
Divergence from Redis grows over time, so compatibility is strongest near the fork point and weakens as both evolve
Ecosystem tooling and documentation still frequently assume Redis, leaving translation work

Pricing, plan by plan

RavenDB

Free

CommunityFree
- 3 cores
- 6GB RAM
- Community support
Professional$499/year
- Production use
- Professional support
- Advanced features

Valkey

Free

ValkeyFree
- Full functionality
- Self-hosted
- No usage limits

Which should you pick?

Choose RavenDB if

You need acid transactions.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web.
You also want auto-indexing.

RavenDB review

Choose Valkey if

You need redis-compatible.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Linux, macOS, Docker, Self-hosted.
You also want bsd licensed.

Valkey review

Questions people ask

Is RavenDB or Valkey better?: Neither clearly leads. RavenDB starts at Free and Valkey at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, RavenDB or Valkey?: RavenDB starts at Free and Valkey at Free.
Does RavenDB or Valkey run on more platforms?: RavenDB runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web. Valkey runs on Linux, macOS, Docker, Self-hosted.
Can I use RavenDB for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is RavenDB best used for?: RavenDB is most often used for running a distributed document database with acid transactions, self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardware, replicating operational data out to analytics systems through etl. Of those, running a distributed document database with acid transactions and self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardware are not what Valkey is typically brought in for.
What can RavenDB do that Valkey cannot?: RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, Auto-indexing, Full-text Search, Graph Queries. Valkey covers Redis-compatible, BSD licensed, Rich data structures, Replication and persistence.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

RavenDB: Is RavenDB free or open source?

RavenDB is open source under the AGPLv3 license and available on GitHub. It also offers a free developer license with enterprise-level features limited to 9 cores, 36GB max RAM, 3 nodes, and non-commercial use.

Source

Valkey: Is Valkey free?

Yes, BSD-licensed open source under the Linux Foundation.

RavenDB: Can I use RavenDB commercially for free?

RavenDB offers a free Community License that permits commercial deployment with unlimited databases and sizes, subject to a 60-core maximum per customer and requirement to run the latest major version.

Source

Valkey: Why does Valkey exist?

Redis changed its licence away from BSD in 2024. Valkey is the community fork continuing under permissive terms, backed by AWS, Google Cloud and Oracle among others.

RavenDB: What commercial licensing options does RavenDB offer?

RavenDB offers Professional, Enterprise, and AI tiers for commercial use. Pricing for these tiers requires contacting their sales team at [email protected].

Source

Valkey: Can I switch from Redis to Valkey?

At the fork point it is drop-in compatible with existing clients and data. The further both projects move from that point, the more you should verify the specific features you use.

RavenDB: Does RavenDB offer a cloud hosting option?

RavenDB Cloud provides a fully managed cloud database with maintenance, failover, and backups included. Pricing is available at cloud.ravendb.net/pricing.

Source

RavenDB: Is there a refund window if I purchase RavenDB?

RavenDB offers a 30-day refund window for purchased licenses.

Source

RavenDB vs Valkey

RavenDB

Valkey

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in RavenDB

Only in Valkey

What people use each for

RavenDB

Valkey

Where each one falls short

RavenDB

Valkey

Pricing, plan by plan

RavenDB

Valkey

Which should you pick?

Choose RavenDB if

Choose Valkey if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on RavenDB

More on Valkey

Keep looking

Other head to heads