Best Caching Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Aiven for Valkey is ranked #1 of 26 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Accessibility Test Framework for Android and Amazon ElastiCache. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Accessibility Test Framework for Android. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Cache at $0.01/mo.
When cached data needs to serve an application, the relevant tradeoffs can span the cache layer and how it is operated. Compared on cache targets, supported cache engines, deployment, data persistence, high availability and edge caching, these entries give you several technical dimensions to consider together. Aiven for Valkey, Amazon ElastiCache and Squid are among the named options; check their listed capabilities against the setup you need to support. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing add cost context. Consider which cache targets matter to your workload, whether cached data must persist, and what deployment and availability characteristics you need.
26 caching software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
26ranked
10free plans on this page
$0.01/molowest paid tier
4 Oct 2026last checked
Input list Caching Software 25 channels on this page · 97 of 200 spec lines stated by the makers
Ch Tool Free planPaid fromDeploymentCache targetsEdge cachingData persistenceHigh availabilitySupported cache engines Spec sheet Score
01 Aiven for Valkey Free planYesPaid from$15/moDeploymentnot statedCache targetsnot statedEdge cachingnot statedData persistencenot statedHigh availabilityYesSupported cache enginesnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 7.5
02 Accessibility Test Framework for Android Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedCache targetsapplication objects, computed values, and database-backed valuesEdge cachingNoData persistenceNoHigh availabilitynot statedSupported cache enginesGuava Cache, LoadingCache 6/8spec lines stated 7.4
03 Amazon ElastiCache Free planNoPaid from$6/moDeploymentnot statedCache targetsnot statedEdge cachingnot statedData persistencenot statedHigh availabilityYesSupported cache enginesnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 7.4
04 Garnet Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedCache targetsapplication data, key-value data, strings, lists, sets, sorted sets, hashesEdge cachingnot statedData persistenceYesHigh availabilityYesSupported cache enginesRESP, Redis-compatible clients, Tsavorite 6/8spec lines stated 7.3
05 Squid Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedCache targetsHTTP/HTTPS web pages and objects, FTP data, gopher dataEdge cachingnot statedData persistenceYesHigh availabilityYesSupported cache enginesHTTP, HTTPS, FTP, gopher, ICP, HTCP 6/8spec lines stated 7.2
06 Hazelcast Platform Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentnot statedCache targetsnot statedEdge cachingnot statedData persistencenot statedHigh availabilitynot statedSupported cache enginesnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.0
07 Memcached Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedCache targetsdatabase-call results, API-call results, page-rendering resultsEdge cachingnot statedData persistenceYesHigh availabilityYesSupported cache enginesText protocol, Meta Text protocol, Binary protocol, SASL authentication 6/8spec lines stated 7.0
08 Varnish Cache Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentnot statedCache targetsnot statedEdge cachingnot statedData persistencenot statedHigh availabilitynot statedSupported cache enginesnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.8
09 Ehcache Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedCache targetsapplication data, database results, web pagesEdge cachingnot statedData persistenceYesHigh availabilityYesSupported cache enginesEhcache, JCache (JSR-107) 6/8spec lines stated 6.7
10 Google Cloud Memorystore Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeploymentnot statedCache targetsnot statedEdge cachingnot statedData persistencenot statedHigh availabilityYesSupported cache enginesnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 6.7
11 Infinispan Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentnot statedCache targetsnot statedEdge cachingnot statedData persistencenot statedHigh availabilitynot statedSupported cache enginesnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.7
12 Varnish Enterprise Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeploymentbothCache targetsHTTP web content, APIs, streaming video, HLS/DASH byte ranges, software artifacts, S3/object-storage contentEdge cachingYesData persistenceYesHigh availabilityYesSupported cache enginesmemory, file, MSE4 7/8spec lines stated 6.7
13 Yandex SpeechKit Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeploymentmanagedCache targetsapplication data, key-value data, message queuesEdge cachingnot statedData persistenceYesHigh availabilityYesSupported cache enginesValkey, Redis 5/8spec lines stated 6.7
14 Caffeine Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedCache targetsin-memory application dataEdge cachingNoData persistencenot statedHigh availabilitynot statedSupported cache enginesCaffeine cache, JSR-107 JCache, Guava Cache 4/8spec lines stated 6.5
15 DigitalOcean Managed Caching for Valkey Free planNoPaid from$15/moDeploymentmanagedCache targetsfrequently accessed data, user sessions, real-time features, queues, primary key-value workloadsEdge cachingnot statedData persistenceYesHigh availabilityYesSupported cache enginesValkey; Redis-compatible clients, libraries, and tools 7/8spec lines stated 6.3
16 Google Guava Cache Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedCache targetsapplication objects, computed values, and database-backed valuesEdge cachingNoData persistenceNoHigh availabilitynot statedSupported cache enginesGuava Cache, LoadingCache 6/8spec lines stated 6.2
17 Ristretto Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedCache targetskey-value dataEdge cachingnot statedData persistenceNoHigh availabilitynot statedSupported cache enginesGo in-process cache library 5/8spec lines stated 6.1
18 Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Cache Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeploymentnot statedCache targetsnot statedEdge cachingnot statedData persistencenot statedHigh availabilityYesSupported cache enginesnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 5.8
19 Yandex Managed Service for Valkey Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeploymentmanagedCache targetsapplication data, key-value data, message queuesEdge cachingnot statedData persistenceYesHigh availabilityYesSupported cache enginesValkey, Redis 5/8spec lines stated 5.8
20 Tencent Cloud Distributed Cache (Redis-Compatible) Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeploymentnot statedCache targetsnot statedEdge cachingnot statedData persistencenot statedHigh availabilityYesSupported cache enginesnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 5.7
21 cache2k Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedCache targetsJava application objectsEdge cachingnot statedData persistenceNoHigh availabilitynot statedSupported cache enginescache2k; JCache/JSR107 4/8spec lines stated 5.6
22 Momento Cache Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeploymentmanagedCache targetsapplication data, database query results, API responses, static assets, session and personalization dataEdge cachingnot statedData persistencenot statedHigh availabilityYesSupported cache enginesValkey; Redis-compatible clients 5/8spec lines stated 5.6
23 Alibaba Cloud Tair Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeploymentnot statedCache targetsnot statedEdge cachingnot statedData persistencenot statedHigh availabilityYesSupported cache enginesnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 5.3
24 simpleCache Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedCache targetsnot statedEdge cachingnot statedData persistencenot statedHigh availabilitynot statedSupported cache enginesnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 5.3
25 Apache Traffic Server Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeploymentnot statedCache targetsnot statedEdge cachingnot statedData persistencenot statedHigh availabilitynot statedSupported cache enginesnot stated 0/8spec lines stated 5.0
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Tool | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment | Cache targets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aiven for Valkey | 7.5 | Free plan | $15/mo | Yes | 15 /mo | — | — |
| 2 | Accessibility Test Framework for Android | 7.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | application objects, computed values, and database-backed values |
| 3 | Amazon ElastiCache | 7.4 | Free plan | $6/mo | No | 6 /mo | — | — |
| 4 | Garnet | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | application data, key-value data, strings, lists, sets, sorted sets, hashes |
| 5 | Squid | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | HTTP/HTTPS web pages and objects, FTP data, gopher data |
| 6 | Hazelcast Platform | 7.0 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 7 | Memcached | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | database-call results, API-call results, page-rendering results |
| 8 | Varnish Cache | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 9 | Ehcache | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | application data, database results, web pages |
| 10 | Google Cloud Memorystore | 6.7 | No | $0.05/mo | No | — | — | — |
| 11 | Infinispan | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 12 | Varnish Enterprise | 6.7 | No | — | No | — | both | HTTP web content, APIs, streaming video, HLS/DASH byte ranges, software artifacts, S3/object-storage content |
| 13 | Yandex SpeechKit | 6.7 | No | — | — | — | managed | application data, key-value data, message queues |
| 14 | Caffeine | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | — | — | self_hosted | in-memory application data |
| 15 | DigitalOcean Managed Caching for Valkey | 6.3 | No | $15/mo | No | 15 /mo | managed | frequently accessed data, user sessions, real-time features, queues, primary key-value workloads |
| 16 | Google Guava Cache | 6.2 | No | — | Yes | — | self_hosted | application objects, computed values, and database-backed values |
| 17 | Ristretto | 6.1 | No | — | Yes | — | self_hosted | key-value data |
| 18 | Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Cache | 5.8 | No | $0.01/mo | No | — | — | — |
| 19 | Yandex Managed Service for Valkey | 5.8 | No | — | — | — | managed | application data, key-value data, message queues |
| 20 | Tencent Cloud Distributed Cache (Redis-Compatible) | 5.7 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 21 | cache2k | 5.6 | No | — | — | — | self_hosted | Java application objects |
| 22 | Momento Cache | 5.6 | No | — | No | — | managed | application data, database query results, API responses, static assets, session and personalization data |
| 23 | Alibaba Cloud Tair | 5.3 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 24 | simpleCache | 5.3 | No | — | Yes | — | self_hosted | — |
| 25 | Apache Traffic Server | 5.0 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
Is your tool 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 Specifiction?
Aiven for Valkey is ranked #1 of 26 with a score of 7.5. Accessibility Test Framework for Android is second and Amazon ElastiCache 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, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Cache has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.01/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing. Paid placements never change a rank.
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