Memcached

Input—per 1M tokens

Output—per 1M tokens

Context—tokens

WeightsClosed

About

Memcached is ranked #5 of 26 in caching software on Inferse. It runs on API, Linux, macOS, Self-hosted. There is a free plan.

Compared on caching software

Free plan: Yesmemcached.org
Deployment: self_hostedmemcached.org
Cache targets: database-call results, API-call results, page-rendering resultsmemcached.org
Data persistence: Yesmemcached.org
High availability: Yesmemcached.org
Supported cache engines: Text protocol, Meta Text protocol, Binary protocol, SASL authenticationmemcached.org

Facts

Purpose: Memcached is a distributed in-memory key-value cache intended to speed up dynamic web applications by reducing database load.memcached.org · 30 Sept 2026
Cached data: It stores small chunks of arbitrary data, such as strings and objects, including results from database calls, API calls, or page rendering.memcached.org · 30 Sept 2026
Cluster model: Clients use a key-based hashing algorithm to select a server, while servers operate independently without synchronization or replication.docs.memcached.org · 30 Sept 2026
Expiration and eviction: Items can expire after a specified time, and the default eviction policy is least recently used (LRU).docs.memcached.org · 30 Sept 2026
Performance: The documentation says queries on slow machines should run well under 1 ms and high-end servers can serve millions of keys per second.docs.memcached.org · 30 Sept 2026
Developer audience: The documentation describes Memcached as a developer tool and says it is not code acceleration software or database middleware.docs.memcached.org · 30 Sept 2026
Language support: The maker says its API is available for most popular languages.memcached.org · 30 Sept 2026
Installation: The downloads page provides a source tarball and installation instructions, including package prerequisites for Debian/Ubuntu and Red Hat/CentOS.memcached.org · 30 Sept 2026
TLS security: Memcached 1.5.13 and later supports authentication and encryption via TLS when built with TLS enabled and used with a TLS-capable client.docs.memcached.org · 30 Sept 2026
SASL security: SASL can authenticate clients but does not encrypt communications, and the documentation says it is not suitable for use over the internet.docs.memcached.org · 30 Sept 2026
Flash storage: The optional extstore feature moves values to external storage while keeping keys and the hash table in memory, and requires Memcached 1.6.0 or newer.docs.memcached.org · 30 Sept 2026
Flash storage limit: Extstore requires flash storage rather than rotational media, and a Memcached restart effectively empties its flash data.docs.memcached.org · 30 Sept 2026
Item size limit: The use cases documentation cites a 1 MB item-size limit.docs.memcached.org · 30 Sept 2026
Support: The project directs users to its Discord chat, documentation, and mailing list for questions, and points to Cache Forge for business support.memcached.org · 30 Sept 2026
Origin: Memcached was originally developed by Brad Fitzpatrick for LiveJournal in 2003.memcached.org · 30 Sept 2026