Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Hazelcast VS Redis โ„ข

Compare Hazelcast VS Redis and see what are their differences

Hazelcast logo Hazelcast

Clustering and highly scalable data distribution platform for Java

Redis logo Redis

Redis is an open source in-memory data structure project implementing a distributed, in-memory key-value database with optional durability.
  • Hazelcast Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-05
  • Redis Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-19

Redis is an open source (BSD licensed), in-memory data structure store, used as a database, cache and message broker. It supports data structures such as strings, hashes, lists, sets, sorted sets with range queries, bitmaps, hyperloglogs, geospatial indexes with radius queries and streams. Redis has built-in replication, Lua scripting, LRU eviction, transactions and different levels of on-disk persistence, and provides high availability via Redis Sentinel and automatic partitioning with Redis Cluster.

Hazelcast features and specs

  • Scalability
    Hazelcast is designed to scale out horizontally with ease by adding more nodes to the cluster, providing better performance and reliability in distributed environments.
  • In-Memory Data Grid
    Hazelcast stores data in-memory, allowing for extremely fast data access and processing times, which is ideal for applications requiring low latency.
  • High Availability
    Hazelcast offers built-in high availability with its data replication and partitioning features, ensuring data is not lost and the system remains operational during node failures.
  • Ease of Use
    Hazelcast provides a simple and intuitive API, making it accessible to developers and quick to integrate with existing applications.
  • Comprehensive Toolset
    Hazelcast offers a wide range of features including caching, messaging, and distributed computing, all in one platform, which simplifies the architecture by reducing the need for multiple tools.

Possible disadvantages of Hazelcast

  • Memory Usage
    Since Hazelcast operates in-memory, it can consume significant amounts of memory, which may be a concern for applications with large datasets.
  • Complexity in Large Deployments
    While Hazelcast offers scalability, managing and configuring a large-scale deployment can become complex and may require experienced personnel.
  • License Cost
    The enterprise version of Hazelcast, which offers additional features and support, comes with a licensing cost that might not fit all budgets.
  • Limited Language Support
    Hazelcast's strongest support is for Java. While it offers clients for other languages, they may not be as robust or feature-complete as the Java client.
  • Network Latency
    In distributed environments, network latency can impact performance, and as Hazelcast relies on network communication for node interactions, this could be a concern in some scenarios.

Redis features and specs

  • Performance
    Redis is an in-memory data store, which allows it to provide extremely fast read and write operations. This makes it ideal for applications requiring real-time interactions.
  • Data Structures
    Redis offers a variety of data structures, such as strings, hashes, lists, sets, and sorted sets. This flexibility helps developers manage data more efficiently in different scenarios.
  • Scalability
    Redis supports horizontal scalability with features like clustering and partitioning, allowing for easy scaling as your application grows.
  • Persistence
    Though primarily an in-memory store, Redis provides options for data persistence, such as RDB snapshots and AOF logs, enabling data durability across reboots.
  • Pub/Sub Messaging
    Redis includes a built-in publish/subscribe messaging system, which can be used to implement real-time messaging and notifications.
  • Simple API
    Redis has a simple and intuitive API, which can speed up development time and make it easier to integrate Redis into various application stacks.
  • Atomic Operations
    Redis supports atomic operations on data structures, reducing the complexity of concurrent programming and making it easier to maintain data consistency.

Possible disadvantages of Redis

  • Memory Usage
    Being an in-memory data store, Redis can become expensive in terms of memory usage, especially when working with large datasets.
  • Data Persistence Limitations
    While Redis offers data persistence, it is not as robust as traditional databases. There can be data loss in certain configurations, such as when using asynchronous persistence methods.
  • Complexity in Scaling
    Although Redis supports clustering, setting up and managing a Redis cluster can be complex and may require significant DevOps expertise.
  • Single-threaded Nature
    Redis operates on a single-threaded event loop, which can become a bottleneck for certain workloads that could benefit from multi-threading.
  • Limited Query Capabilities
    Compared to traditional relational databases, Redis offers limited querying capabilities. Complex queries and joins are not supported natively.
  • License
    As of Redis 6 and higher, the Redis modules are under the Server Side Public License (SSPL), which may be restrictive for some use cases compared to more permissive open-source licenses.

Hazelcast videos

Hazelcast Introduction and cluster demo

More videos:

  • Review - Comparing and Benchmarking Data Grids Apache Ignite vs Hazelcast
  • Demo - Hazelcast Cloud Enterprise - Getting Started Demo Video

Redis videos

What is Redis? | Why and When to use Redis? | Tech Primers

More videos:

  • Review - Improve your Redis developer experience with RedisInsight, Redis Labs
  • Review - Redis Labs "Why NoSQL is a Safe Bet"
  • Review - Redis Enterprise Overview with Yiftach Shoolman - Redis Labs
  • Review - Redis system design | Distributed cache System design
  • Review - What is Redis and What Does It Do?
  • Review - Redis Sorted Sets Explained

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Hazelcast and Redis)
NoSQL Databases
6 6%
94% 94
Databases
5 5%
95% 95
Key-Value Database
6 6%
94% 94
Big Data
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Hazelcast and Redis. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Hazelcast and Redis

Hazelcast Reviews

HazelCast - Redis Replacement
Hazelcast IMDG provides a Discovery Service Provider Interface (SPI), which allows users to implement custom member discovery mechanisms to deploy Hazelcast IMDG on any platform. Hazelcastยฎ Discovery SPI also allows you to use third-party software like Zookeeper, Eureka, Consul, etcd for implementing custom discovery mechanism.
Source: hazelcast.org

Redis Reviews

Redis Alternative for App Performance | Gigaspaces
Redis offers a RESTful API for accessing data stored within its in-memory technology data structures. This API provides a simple and efficient way to interact with Redis, enabling developers to leverage its capabilities seamlessly in their applications. Developers also need to manage the Redis cached data lifecycle, itโ€™s the application responsibility to store the data &...
Are Free, Open-Source Message Queues Right For You?
A notable challenge with Redis Streams is that it doesn't natively support distributed, horizontal scaling. Also, while Redis is famous for its speed and simplicity, managing and scaling a Redis installation may be complex for some users, particularly for persistent data workloads.
Source: blog.iron.io
Redis vs. KeyDB vs. Dragonfly vs. Skytable | Hacker News
1. Redis: I'll start with Redis which I'd like to call the "original" key/value store (after memcached) because it is the oldest and most widely used of all. Being a long-time follower of Redis, I do know it's single-threaded (and uses io-threads since 6.0) and hence it achieves lesser throughput than the other stores listed above which are multi-threaded, at least to some...
Memcached vs Redis - More Different Than You Would Expect
Remember when I wrote about how Redis was using malloc to assign memory? I lied. While Redis did use malloc at some point, these days Redis actually uses jemalloc. The reason for this is that jemalloc, while having lower peak performance has lower memory fragmentation helping to solve the framented memory issues that Redis experiences.
Top 15 Kafka Alternatives Popular In 2021
Redis is a known, open-source, in-memory data structure store that offers different data structures like lists, strings, hashes, sets, bitmaps, streams, geospatial indexes, etc. It is best utilized as a cache, memory broker, and cache. It has optional durability and inbuilt replication potential. It offers a great deal of availability through Redis Sentinel and Redis Cluster.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Redis seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 226 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Hazelcast mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Hazelcast yet. Tracking of Hazelcast recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Redis mentions (226)

  • Hacktoberfest 2025 with Ghostfolio
    The software is fully written in TypeScript and organized as an Nx workspace, utilizing the latest framework releases. The backend is based on NestJS in combination with PostgreSQL as a database together with Prisma and Redis for caching. The frontend is developed with Angular. - Source: dev.to / 6 days ago
  • Redis Explained: What It Is, Why You Need It, and How to Install It the Easy Way
    Hereโ€™s the thing: sometimes itโ€™s not your databaseโ€™s fault. Whatโ€™s missing is a speed booster in your architecture: Redis. - Source: dev.to / 29 days ago
  • Real-Time Sync Alternatives: Vaultrice vs. localStorage, DIY, Firebase, Pusher
    This is the path of ultimate control. You spin up a Node.js server, add the socket.io library for WebSocket communication, and use a Redis instance to manage connection state and pub/sub messaging across multiple server instances. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Is Your Fraud Screening Process Ignoring Local Patterns?
    Your Database: This is your system's memory. It can be a fast in-memory store like Redis for temporary data (perfect for velocity checks) or a persistent relational database like PostgreSQL for long-term data (like blacklists). - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Redis vs. Memcached: How to Choose Your NoSQL Champion
    Redis is also an in-memory system with exceptional performance. But unlike Memcached, Redis is known as a "data structure server." It doesn't just support simple key-value pairs; it offers a rich variety of complex data structures like Lists, Hashes, Sets, and Sorted Sets. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Hazelcast and Redis, you can also consider the following products

memcached - High-performance, distributed memory object caching system

MongoDB - MongoDB (from "humongous") is a scalable, high-performance NoSQL database.

Apache Cassandra - The Apache Cassandra database is the right choice when you need scalability and high availability without compromising performance.

Apache Ignite - high-performance, integrated and distributed in-memory platform for computing and transacting on...

ArangoDB - A distributed open-source database with a flexible data model for documents, graphs, and key-values.

Aerospike - Aerospike is a high-performing NoSQL database supporting high transaction volumes with low latency.