ElastiCache Pricing Calculator - Valkey, Redis & Memcached

Valkey is recommended for new deployments. Valkey is an open-source, Redis-compatible cache engine that offers 20% lower costs for node-based deployments and 33% lower costs for serverless. It's API-compatible with Redis OSS, so migration is straightforward with no code changes required.

Node-based is best for predictable workloads where you know your memory and throughput needs. You get dedicated resources and can save up to 55% with Reserved Nodes. Serverless is ideal for variable workloads, development environments, or when you want automatic scaling without capacity management. Serverless charges based on data storage (GB-hours) and compute (ECPUs).

Use Memcached for simple key-value caching where you don't need advanced features like persistence, pub/sub, or complex data structures. Memcached is slightly faster for simple operations and supports multi-threaded architecture. Use Valkey or Redis when you need data structures (lists, sets, sorted sets), persistence, replication, or Lua scripting.

ElastiCache Reserved Nodes offer significant savings for long-term commitments. 1-year terms save approximately 30-40% compared to On-Demand pricing. 3-year terms save approximately 50-55%. Choose "No Upfront" for flexibility or "All Upfront" for maximum savings. Reserved Nodes are tied to a specific node type and region.

Yes, Graviton nodes are recommended for most workloads. Graviton-based nodes (r7g, m7g, t4g) offer up to 20% better price-performance than x86 equivalents. They're compatible with all ElastiCache engines and provide the same features. Only use x86 nodes if you have specific compatibility requirements.

ElastiCache automatically backs up your cluster daily. One backup equal to your cluster size is free. Additional backup storage is charged at $0.085 per GB-month. For Valkey and Redis clusters, you can also enable point-in-time recovery for continuous backups.