Database & Data Management · head to head
SingleStore vs Redis
SingleStore
Database & Data Management
The real-time distributed SQL database for data-intensive applications
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: SingleStore high licensing costs that increase with data scale and cluster size; Redis licensing changed from BSD to AGPL in 2025, impacting open-source usage
- They diverge on capability: SingleStore covers Real-time Analytics, Redis covers In-memory data store.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which SingleStore and Redis actually diverge.
| Attribute | SingleStore | Redis |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Cloud (SingleStoreDB Cloud), Self-Managed | Linux, macOS, Windows |
| Category | Database & Data Management | Technology |
| Founded | 2011 | 2009 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Unknown), 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 SingleStore
- Real-time Analytics
- Fast Data Ingest
- In-memory Processing
- Distributed Architecture
- MySQL Compatible
- Columnar Storage
- Vector Search
- Kafka
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.
SingleStore
- Transaction processingnot Redis
- Data storagenot Redis
- Application backendnot Redis
- Reportingnot Redis
- Data analyticsnot Redis
Redis
- Cachingnot SingleStore
- Session managementnot SingleStore
- Real-time analyticsnot SingleStore
- Message queuingnot SingleStore
- Leaderboardsnot SingleStore
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
SingleStore
- High licensing costs that increase with data scale and cluster size
- Eventual consistency in replication: secondary replicas may lag during high write loads
- Complex operational setup requiring specialized knowledge for optimization
- Vendor lock-in due to proprietary technology without open-source alternatives
- Disorganized documentation and lack of online training resources
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
SingleStore
Free- Free Tier$0.99/month
- Usage-based pricing
- Limited resources
Redis
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Redis review.
Which should you pick?
Choose SingleStore if
- You need real-time analytics.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Cloud (SingleStoreDB Cloud), Self-Managed.
- You also want fast data ingest.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is SingleStore or Redis better?
- Neither clearly leads. SingleStore 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, SingleStore or Redis?
- SingleStore starts at Free and Redis at Free.
- Does SingleStore or Redis run on more platforms?
- SingleStore runs on Cloud (SingleStoreDB Cloud), Self-Managed. Redis runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
- Can I use SingleStore for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is SingleStore best used for?
- SingleStore is most often used for transaction processing, data storage, application backend, reporting. Of those, transaction processing and data storage are not what Redis is typically brought in for.
- What can SingleStore do that Redis cannot?
- SingleStore covers Real-time Analytics, Fast Data Ingest, In-memory Processing, Distributed Architecture. Redis covers In-memory data store, Data structures, Pub/Sub messaging, Lua scripting.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
SingleStore: Does SingleStore offer a free tier?
Yes, SingleStore offers a free tier starting from $0.99/month with usage-based pricing. The free tier allows developers to evaluate the platform with limited resources before scaling to production workloads.
SourceRedis: 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.
SourceSingleStore: Can SingleStore handle both transactional and analytical workloads?
Yes, SingleStore is a hybrid transactional/analytical processing (HTAP) database that combines operational (OLTP) and analytical (OLAP) workloads in a single unified engine, eliminating the need for separate systems.
SourceRedis: 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.
SourceSingleStore: Does SingleStore integrate with Apache Spark?
Yes, SingleStore provides the Spark Connector 3.0 for bidirectional data integration with Apache Spark. The connector supports SQL, Python, Scala, Java, and R for data loading and extraction.
SourceSingleStore: Can SingleStore ingest data from Kafka?
Yes, SingleStore supports high-throughput streaming ingestion from Apache Kafka and other sources, enabling millions of events per second without requiring ETL pipelines or data movement.
SourceSingleStore: Is SingleStore available as cloud or self-managed?
SingleStore offers both deployment options: SingleStoreDB Cloud (managed service) and SingleStore Self-Managed for on-premises or private cloud deployments. The managed service handles infrastructure, scaling, and maintenance automatically.
Source