Best Caching Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Amazon ElastiCache is ranked #1 of 16 as of 3 October 2026, ahead of Aiven for Valkey and Infinispan. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Aiven for Valkey. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Google Cloud Memorystore at $0.05/mo.
16 caching software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
| # | Platform | Score | Why | From | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amazon ElastiCache | 8.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $6/mo | No | 6 /mo | — | View |
| 2 | Aiven for Valkey | 8.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $15/mo | Yes | 15 /mo | — | View |
| 3 |  Infinispan | 8.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 4 |  Memcached | 8.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | View |
| 5 |  Ehcache | 7.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | View |
| 6 | Hazelcast Platform | 7.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 7 | Varnish Cache | 7.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 8 |  Garnet | 6.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | View |
| 9 |  Squid | 6.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | View |
| 10 |  Google Cloud Memorystore | 6.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $0.05/mo | No | — | — | View |
| 11 | Varnish Enterprise | 6.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | both | View |
| 12 |  Ristretto | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | self_hosted | View |
| 13 |  Caffeine | 5.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 14 |  Momento Cache | 5.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | managed | View |
| 15 |  cache2k | 5.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 16 | Apache Traffic Server | 4.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | — | View |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which caching software is ranked first on Inferse?
Amazon ElastiCache is ranked #1 of 16 with a score of 8.9. Aiven for Valkey is second and Infinispan third.
How many of these have a free plan?
8 of the 16 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Google Cloud Memorystore has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.05/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it. Paid placements never change a rank.