Amazon ElastiCache vs Upstash Redis
A comparison of Amazon ElastiCache and Upstash Redis built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
- Pick Amazon ElastiCache if
- Teams already on AWS that want engine choice (Valkey, Memcached or Redis OSS) under one billing model, or that specifically need Valkey's newer durable-persistence option.
- Pick Upstash Redis if
- Serverless and edge apps with spiky or low-baseline traffic — per-command billing means an idle app costs close to nothing, and the free tier covers real prototyping.
4 sourced criteria separate them:
- Entry paid plan
- Amazon ElastiCache: On-demand example: cache.r7g.large at $0.1752/hour. Actual entry price depends on node size and engine chosen.
- Upstash Redis: $0.20 per 100,000 commands on Pay as You Go, with up to 100 GB data. Fixed monthly plans are also offered.
- Pricing model
- Amazon ElastiCache: Three models: on-demand (hourly per node), serverless (billed on GB-hours of data storage plus ECPUs consumed), or Database Savings Plans for committed use.
- Upstash Redis: Command-based billing on Pay as You Go ($0.20 per 100K commands); Fixed plans offer flat monthly rates instead.
- Data persistence
- Amazon ElastiCache: Durable on Valkey 9.0+: data is stored persistently. Synchronous writes cost an 18% premium; asynchronous writes carry no additional cost. Redis OSS and Memcached engines are not documented as persistent here.
- Upstash Redis: Durable — data stays persistent in the cloud provider's block storage for durability and high availability, not an in-memory-only cache.
- Multi-region replication
- Amazon ElastiCache: Global Datastore provides managed, secure cross-region replication, with outbound cross-region traffic billed at $0.02/GiB.
- Upstash Redis: Supported on Fixed and Enterprise tiers. Each additional read region adds $5 to the Fixed 250MB tier's monthly cost, scaling upward with plan size.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
Amazon ElastiCache 0
Upstash Redis 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Amazon ElastiCache | Upstash Redis |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Entry paid plan | On-demand example: cache.r7g.large at $0.1752/hour. Actual entry price depends on node size and engine chosen. | $0.20 per 100,000 commands on Pay as You Go, with up to 100 GB data. Fixed monthly plans are also offered. |
| Pricing model | Three models: on-demand (hourly per node), serverless (billed on GB-hours of data storage plus ECPUs consumed), or Database Savings Plans for committed use. | Command-based billing on Pay as You Go ($0.20 per 100K commands); Fixed plans offer flat monthly rates instead. |
| Caching | ||
| Data persistence | Durable on Valkey 9.0+: data is stored persistently. Synchronous writes cost an 18% premium; asynchronous writes carry no additional cost. Redis OSS and Memcached engines are not documented as persistent here. | Durable — data stays persistent in the cloud provider's block storage for durability and high availability, not an in-memory-only cache. |
| Multi-region replication | Global Datastore provides managed, secure cross-region replication, with outbound cross-region traffic billed at $0.02/GiB. | Supported on Fixed and Enterprise tiers. Each additional read region adds $5 to the Fixed 250MB tier's monthly cost, scaling upward with plan size. |
Where they differ.
Entry paid plan
- Amazon ElastiCache
- On-demand example: cache.r7g.large at $0.1752/hour. Actual entry price depends on node size and engine chosen.
- Upstash Redis
- $0.20 per 100,000 commands on Pay as You Go, with up to 100 GB data. Fixed monthly plans are also offered.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Amazon ElastiCache Pricing ↗
“cache.r7g.large at $0.1752/hour on-demand.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
- Upstash Pricing ↗
“$0.2 per 100K commands. Pay as You Go: 100 GB maximum data capacity.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
Pricing model
- Amazon ElastiCache
- Three models: on-demand (hourly per node), serverless (billed on GB-hours of data storage plus ECPUs consumed), or Database Savings Plans for committed use.
- Upstash Redis
- Command-based billing on Pay as You Go ($0.20 per 100K commands); Fixed plans offer flat monthly rates instead.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Amazon ElastiCache Pricing ↗
“on-demand, serverless, and Database Savings Plans.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
- Upstash Pricing ↗
“Flexible pricing for variable traffic.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
Data persistence
- Amazon ElastiCache
- Durable on Valkey 9.0+: data is stored persistently. Synchronous writes cost an 18% premium; asynchronous writes carry no additional cost. Redis OSS and Memcached engines are not documented as persistent here.
- Upstash Redis
- Durable — data stays persistent in the cloud provider's block storage for durability and high availability, not an in-memory-only cache.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Amazon ElastiCache Pricing ↗
“Valkey 9.0 offers Durability...allowing you to use ElastiCache as a persistent data store [with] synchronous writes (18% premium) and asynchronous writes (no additional cost).”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
- Upstash Pricing ↗
“Data stays persistent in the cloud provider's block storage for durability and high availability.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
Multi-region replication
- Amazon ElastiCache
- Global Datastore provides managed, secure cross-region replication, with outbound cross-region traffic billed at $0.02/GiB.
- Upstash Redis
- Supported on Fixed and Enterprise tiers. Each additional read region adds $5 to the Fixed 250MB tier's monthly cost, scaling upward with plan size.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Amazon ElastiCache Pricing ↗
“ElastiCache Global Datastore enables fully managed, reliable, and secure cross-Region replication. [Outbound traffic] $0.02 per GiB.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
- Upstash Pricing ↗
“$5 x read regions, added to the Fixed 250MB tier cost.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Which should you choose?
Choose Amazon ElastiCache if…
Teams already on AWS that want engine choice (Valkey, Memcached or Redis OSS) under one billing model, or that specifically need Valkey's newer durable-persistence option.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose Upstash Redis if…
Serverless and edge apps with spiky or low-baseline traffic — per-command billing means an idle app costs close to nothing, and the free tier covers real prototyping.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- Amazon ElastiCache: AWS isn't the target cloud, or the free-tier eligibility window matters — it's restricted to accounts that signed up for AWS Free Tier before July 15, 2025.
- Upstash Redis: Traffic is large and steady rather than spiky — a flat-rate Redis plan is usually cheaper than metered commands once volume is predictable.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
Questions this comparison answers.
Entry paid plan: Amazon ElastiCache or Upstash Redis?
Amazon ElastiCache: On-demand example: cache.r7g.large at $0.1752/hour. Actual entry price depends on node size and engine chosen.
Upstash Redis: $0.20 per 100,000 commands on Pay as You Go, with up to 100 GB data. Fixed monthly plans are also offered.
Should I choose Amazon ElastiCache or Upstash Redis?
Pick Amazon ElastiCache if Teams already on AWS that want engine choice (Valkey, Memcached or Redis OSS) under one billing model, or that specifically need Valkey's newer durable-persistence option.
Pick Upstash Redis if Serverless and edge apps with spiky or low-baseline traffic — per-command billing means an idle app costs close to nothing, and the free tier covers real prototyping.