Amazon MemoryDB Benchmark: How It Compares to Alternatives

Amazon MemoryDB offers serious speed and durability, but how does it stack up against other in-memory databases? Early benchmarks show that MemoryDB delivers outstanding low-latency performance, persistent storage, and seamless Redis compatibility. However, performance, pricing, and scalability differ sharply from options like Redis Enterprise, ElastiCache, and Apache Ignite.

Performance Benchmarks: MemoryDB vs. Alternatives

MemoryDB is built for microsecond read and write latency, optimized for high-throughput workloads needing both in-memory speed and durable backups. In benchmark testing:

• Amazon MemoryDB achieved sub-millisecond latencies on 99th percentile operations, outperforming standard Redis OSS deployments on AWS EC2 by around 20%.
• Redis Enterprise often delivers slightly better latencies under extreme multi-region failover setups, but MemoryDB holds its ground on single-region deployments.
• Amazon ElastiCache for Redis matches MemoryDB on raw speed for volatile data, but without MemoryDB’s full durability guarantees.
• Apache Ignite provides strong transactional consistency but lags behind MemoryDB in raw latency by 30–50% under high concurrency.

Key Strengths of Amazon MemoryDB

MemoryDB leans heavily into durability without giving up in-memory speeds. Highlights include:

• Multi-AZ durability: All writes are synchronously replicated across three Availability Zones before being acknowledged.
• Fully Redis-compatible: Works out of the box with existing Redis clients and libraries.
• Persistence by design: Native backups prevent catastrophic data loss without the need for extra snapshot scripting.
• High availability: Automated failover recovery typically completes within 60 seconds.

Where MemoryDB Lags Behind

Not every workload fits perfectly with MemoryDB’s architecture. Areas to watch:

• Pricing: MemoryDB costs more than ElastiCache because of its durability overhead. For ephemeral caching needs, ElastiCache remains more cost-effective.
• Scaling writes: MemoryDB horizontal scaling uses sharding, but write-heavy workloads beyond a certain threshold will notice throughput limits faster than Redis Enterprise’s Active-Active setup.
• Global replication: MemoryDB is region-bound. Applications needing active-active global replication may prefer Redis Enterprise or custom hybrid deployments.

Real-World Use Cases for MemoryDB

MemoryDB shines under specific workload conditions:

• Gaming leaderboards: Microsecond latency combined with multi-AZ durability prevents player data loss.
• Financial transaction tracking: High write volumes paired with persistent storage ensure audit compliance.
• Session management for e-commerce: Customers never lose cart or session data, even during outages.

Quick Comparison Table

Feature	Amazon MemoryDB	Redis Enterprise	ElastiCache	Apache Ignite
Redis Compatibility	Full	Full	Full	Partial
Durability	Multi-AZ, persistent	Multi-region optional	Optional snapshots	Persistent storage
Latency	Sub-millisecond	Sub-millisecond	Sub-millisecond	1–3 ms
Global Replication	No	Yes	No	Yes
Pricing	High	High	Moderate	Low
Scaling	Sharded	Active-Active	Sharded	Partitioned

Final Thoughts

Amazon MemoryDB delivers performance and resilience built directly into the service. Compared to other Redis-based solutions, it offers true durability without sacrificing low latency. However, price and write-scaling ceilings need careful consideration based on application needs. MemoryDB fits best for businesses that refuse to compromise on both speed and data persistence.