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Technology · head to head

Redis vs Thought Machine

Redis logo

Redis

Technology

The real-time data platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thought Machine logo

Thought Machine

Technology

Cloud native core banking where products are written as smart contracts

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Redis has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Redis licensing changed from BSD to AGPL in 2025, impacting open-source usage; Thought Machine a core replacement is a two to four year programme at an established bank, and the licence is a minority of total cost against system integrator fees, parallel running and data migration.
  • They diverge on capability: Redis covers In-memory data store, Thought Machine covers Smart contract product engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Redis and Thought Machine actually diverge.

Attributes where Redis and Thought Machine differ
AttributeRedisThought Machine
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WindowsWeb, API, Cloud
Founded2009Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Technology).

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 Redis

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

Only in Thought Machine

  • Smart contract product engine
  • Cloud native architecture
  • Real time ledger
  • Vault Payments
  • API first design
  • Multi entity and multi currency
  • Product versioning and testing
  • Configurable posting rules

What people use each for

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

Redis

  • Cachingnot Thought Machine
  • Session managementnot Thought Machine
  • Real-time analyticsnot Thought Machine
  • Message queuingnot Thought Machine
  • Leaderboardsnot Thought Machine

Thought Machine

  • A large bank launching a separate digital brand on a clean core rather than migrating the back booknot Redis
  • A bank whose product launches are blocked by vendor change requests on a legacy corenot Redis
  • An institution needing real time balances and postings for instant payment obligationsnot Redis
  • A group consolidating multiple country cores onto one multi entity platformnot Redis

Where each one falls short

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

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

Thought Machine

  • A core replacement is a two to four year programme at an established bank, and the licence is a minority of total cost against system integrator fees, parallel running and data migration.
  • The smart contract model presumes a bank can write and maintain Python financial products, and institutions without that engineering capability end up outsourcing the very flexibility they bought.
  • Cloud infrastructure cost sits with the bank and is not trivial at scale, so total cost of ownership comparisons against a hosted legacy core often miss a large recurring line.
  • Thought Machine has made two rounds of job cuts pursuing profitability, which is a legitimate supplier stability concern for a system a bank expects to run for fifteen years.
  • The functional footprint is core ledger and product engine, so origination, collections, regulatory reporting and channels all come from other vendors, and the integration estate around Vault is the bank's problem to design and own.

Pricing, plan by plan

Redis

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Redis review.

Thought Machine

On request
  • Vault Core$undefined/year
    • Quoted per institution, typically on account volumes or annual contract value
    • Implementation and system integrator costs commonly exceed the licence fee
    • Cloud infrastructure costs are the bank's and are not included

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Thought Machine if

  • You need smart contract product engine.
  • You work on Web, API, Cloud.
  • You also want cloud native architecture.
Thought Machine review

Questions people ask

Is Redis or Thought Machine better?
Neither clearly leads. Redis starts at Free and Thought Machine at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Redis or Thought Machine?
Redis has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Redis and On request for Thought Machine.
Does Redis or Thought Machine run on more platforms?
Redis runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. Thought Machine runs on Web, API, Cloud.
Can I use Redis for free?
Yes. Redis has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Thought Machine starts at On request.
What is Redis best used for?
Redis is most often used for caching, session management, real-time analytics, message queuing. Of those, caching and session management are not what Thought Machine is typically brought in for.
What can Redis do that Thought Machine cannot?
Redis covers In-memory data store, Data structures, Pub/Sub messaging, Lua scripting. Thought Machine covers Smart contract product engine, Cloud native architecture, Real time ledger, Vault Payments.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Thought Machine: Is Vault Core genuinely cloud native?

Yes. It is containerised, runs on Kubernetes on public cloud, and posts in real time rather than in overnight batch.

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
Thought Machine: How long does a migration take?

Eighteen months at the absolute fastest for a narrow greenfield launch; two to four years for a phased migration at an established bank.

Thought Machine: Does the licence fee represent the total cost?

No. Implementation, system integration, parallel running and cloud infrastructure typically cost more than the licence over the programme.

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