Best Key-Value Databases in 2026
Updated
In short: Upstash Redis is ranked #1 of 30 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Aerospike Database and Amazon DynamoDB. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Aerospike Database. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Google Cloud Bigtable at $0.03/mo.
Key-value databases give applications a way to retrieve values through their keys, with infrastructure and storage behaviors varying across options. The ranking begins with Amazon DynamoDB, Aerospike Database and Upstash Redis, followed by Infinispan. Compared on clustering support, deployment model and multi-region support, these entries also differ in persistence modes, supported protocols, TTL support and maximum value size. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing provide additional points of comparison. Consider the workload’s scale, data lifetime and deployment requirements when reviewing how the listed capabilities line up with your system.
30 key-value databases 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 model | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upstash Redis | 7.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $0.20/mo | Yes | — | cloud | View |
| 2 | Aerospike Database | 7.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | hybrid | View |
| 3 | Amazon DynamoDB | 7.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | cloud | View |
| 4 |  Riak KV | 7.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | View |
| 5 |  Infinispan | 7.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | View |
| 6 | RonDB | 7.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | — | — | — | View |
| 7 |  RocksDB | 7.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | — | — | — | View |
| 8 | Google Cloud Bigtable | 6.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $0.03/mo | No | — | cloud | View |
| 9 | Oracle Database | 6.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | 0.01 /mo | hybrid | View |
| 10 | VMware Workstation Pro | 5.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 11 | Redis Insight | 5.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 12 | Cloudflare Workers KV | 5.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $5/mo | Yes | 5 /mo | cloud | View |
| 13 | EloqKV | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | hybrid | View |
| 14 | Hibari | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | self_hosted | View |
| 15 |  Ristretto | 5.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 16 | AntidoteDB | 5.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 17 |  Apache Accumulo | 5.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 18 | Apache Ignite | 5.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 19 | Apache Kvrocks | 5.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 20 | etcd | 5.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 21 |  FoundationDB | 5.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 22 | Tarantool DB | 5.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 23 | TiKV | 5.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 24 | Valkey | 5.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 25 | Amazon MemoryDB | 5.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | cloud | 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 key-value database is ranked first on Inferse?
Upstash Redis is ranked #1 of 30 with a score of 7.4. Aerospike Database is second and Amazon DynamoDB third.
How many of these have a free plan?
10 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Google Cloud Bigtable has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.03/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.