Valkey and Redis 2026: Same Core Speed, but Licensing and a Stream Key Trap Matter

A benchmark-based comparison finds Valkey and Redis performing nearly identically for caching and job queues, with throughput within a few percent of each other. The main differences lie in licensing, since Redis now offers RSALv2, SSPLv1 or AGPLv3 while Valkey uses BSD-3-Clause under Linux Foundation governance. Redis 8 also adds built-in features such as the Query Engine, Time Series, vector sets and extra probabilistic types that Valkey handles through modules or lacks. Migrating from Redis 8.10 carries a risk, because a stream key written by that version prevents Valkey from loading the snapshot or replicating from it. The author suggests choosing Valkey for open governance or Redis for its extra features, and reading the migration guidance first if moving off Redis 8.