What Memcached does

Memcached is a free, BSD-licensed open-source distributed in-memory key-value caching system originally created by Brad Fitzpatrick in 2003 for LiveJournal to alleviate database load on dynamic web applications. The software is implemented in C and uses a distributed hash table architecture with client-side server selection, an LRU-based eviction policy, and a slab allocator for memory management. The server is intentionally simple by design, with all routing logic split between client and server, no inter-server communication, and no replication, which simplifies cache invalidation and horizontal scaling. Notable technical components include a segmented LRU algorithm with HOT/WARM/COLD/TEMP sub-queues (introduced 2018), an asynchronous LRU crawler, an Extstore extension for offloading values to NVMe/flash while keeping keys in RAM, Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory support (Memory Mode and App Direct Mode), a built-in Lua-configurable proxy for multi-pool and cross-availability-zone routing (2024), TLS encryption, SASL authentication, and a Warm Restart feature for preserving the cache across process restarts.

The current product surface consists of a single unified open-source codebase (latest stable release v1.6.42) that ships the core memcached server plus modular features: the built-in proxy, Extstore, TLS, and Warm Restart. The project has no incorporated legal entity, no parent company, and no disclosed institutional funding; it is maintained by a community of 50+ named contributors led by dormando (the website and documentation maintainer) and supported by corporate sponsors including Netflix. Distribution is entirely community-driven via the official website, GitHub (14,200+ stars, 3,300+ forks), Linux package managers (apt-get, yum), and Docker images. Business support and sponsorship are routed through CacheForge, but there is no commercial product, pricing tier, or formal sales motion. Documented enterprise users include Netflix (sponsor and extstore adopter), Grafana Loki (50TB extstore deployment for Grafana Cloud Logs), and historically LiveJournal. The project's go-to-market is purely community-led adoption through documentation, tutorials, blog posts, Discord support, mailing lists, and organic word-of-mouth from large public users.

Name

Memcached

Legal name

Memcached

Website

https://memcached.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Memcached is a free, open-source distributed in-memory key-value caching system used by web developers, DevOps teams, and large-scale internet services to reduce database load and achieve sub-millisecond response times for dynamic applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

In-Memory Caching Software

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Edge Storage & Distributed Caching (KV/Object, Edge Cache) (HDABAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

In-Memory Databases (HDAEAAAD), Storage Virtualization & Software-Defined Storage (SDS) (HDABAEAF), Persistent/Non-Volatile Memory (MRAM/ReRAM/PCM/FeRAM) (HDAHAKAF)

Keywords

• Distributed memory caching
• In-memory key-value store
• Open source caching
• Database load reduction
• Web application acceleration

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Open Source Software (No Direct Revenue): Memcached is a free and open-source project (BSD license) with no direct revenue model. The project is maintained by a community of contributors and sponsored by companies including Netflix. Business support and sponsorship options are available through CacheForge (cacheforge.com) and GitHub Sponsors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Memcached is a free, open-source, high-performance distributed memory object caching system that provides an in-memory key-value store for small chunks of arbitrary data (strings, objects) sourced from database calls, API calls, or page rendering. It is designed to speed up dynamic web applications by alleviating backend database load, with sub-millisecond latency and horizontal scaling by adding servers to a pool. The server is intentionally simple, keeping logic distributed between client and server.

Product overview

Memcached is a single, unified open-source product: a distributed in-memory key-value caching system. The core memcached server provides the caching engine, with several built-in features and extensions including: the Built-in Proxy for pool management and routing, Extstore for NVMe/flash external storage, TLS Support for encrypted connections, and Warm Restart for persistence across restarts. These are not separate commercial products but feature modules within the same open-source codebase.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Memcached (Core Server) Free and open source distributed memory object caching system. In-memory key-value store for small chunks of arbitrary data (strings, objects) from results of database calls, API calls, or page rendering. Intended for software engineers and DevOps teams building dynamic web applications who need to reduce database load and improve response times.
• Built-in Proxy Generic cache pool management proxy built into the memcached daemon. Supports all text protocol commands, uses Lua for flexible routing configuration, manages pools locally or across availability zones, and can replicate set/delete traffic.
• Extstore (External Storage) External storage extension allowing cache data to be stored on flash/NVMe devices. Keys remain in RAM while values are stored on disk, reducing RAM requirements while maintaining high cache capacity.
• TLS Support Transport Layer Security support for encrypted connections to memcached servers.
• Warm Restart Restartable cache feature allowing memcached to restart while preserving cache data in shared memory segments, reducing cache refill time after upgrades or restarts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 80% total cost of ownership reduction using Intel Optane persistent memory by reducing cluster size and switching from dual-socket to single-socket servers
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IntelcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntel collaborated with memcached developers on benchmarking and optimizing Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory Modules with memcached. Tests were conducted using Intel Xeon Cascade Lake CPUs and Optane modules in Memory Mode and App Direct Mode configurations. Intel provided hardware and guidance through the 'Accelerate with Optane' program.
• Grafana LokicoreTechnology or IntegrationGrafana Loki (Grafana Labs) uses memcached with extstore for large-scale log chunk caching in Grafana Cloud Logs. The memcached team and Grafana Loki collaborated to produce tuning documentation for running Loki with extstore at 50TB scale.
• CacheForgeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCacheForge (cacheforge.com) is referenced on the official memcached website as the source for business support and sponsorship of memcached's development. It serves as the commercial support channel for companies needing paid assistance with memcached.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Redis: Redis is the most direct competitor to Memcached — an in-memory data structure store widely used for caching, session storage, and as a primary key-value database. It targets the same developer and DevOps customer base with overlapping client libraries and deployment patterns, and offers richer data types and persistence where Memcached deliberately stays simple.
• Hazelcast: Hazelcast provides a distributed in-memory data grid with caching, stream processing, and computation. It competes with Memcached for distributed caching and session-store use cases at enterprise scale, offering built-in clustering, replication, and embedded deployment options.
• Valkey: Valkey is the Linux Foundation-governed open-source fork of Redis, created after the Redis license change. It competes head-to-head with Memcached in the open-source caching layer, with a drop-in protocol-compatible API and active community development, offering users a free Redis alternative that directly pressures Memcached's open-source value proposition.
• Apache Ignite: Apache Ignite is a distributed in-memory data fabric offering caching, compute, and SQL capabilities. It serves the same large-scale caching and acceleration use cases as Memcached, with additional features like ACID transactions and persistent store that go beyond Memcached's intentionally simple design.

Emerging players

• Dragonfly: Dragonfly is a modern in-memory data store designed as a drop-in Redis/Memcached replacement with multi-threaded architecture and high throughput per node. It targets large-scale caching workloads comparable to Memcached's internet-scale deployments, with claims of significantly higher QPS per instance.
• Aerospike: Aerospike is a real-time NoSQL database with hybrid RAM/SSD storage architecture that mirrors Memcached's extstore philosophy. It serves latency-sensitive caching and session-store workloads for ad-tech, financial services, and large-scale web applications similar to Memcached's customer base.
• KeyDB: KeyDB is a high-performance fork of Redis focused on multi-threading and replication, originally developed by Snap. It targets the same caching use cases as Memcached but offers built-in replication and active-active setups, making it a relevant alternative for users needing Memcached-like simplicity with stronger HA.

Broad incumbents

• AWS ElastiCache: AWS ElastiCache offers fully-managed Memcached and Redis clusters as a cloud service. It competes directly with self-hosted Memcached deployments by removing operational overhead, providing replication, monitoring, and patching — making it the primary cloud alternative for the same Memcached workload.
• Couchbase: Couchbase is a distributed NoSQL document database with built-in caching and in-memory performance layers. It serves enterprise customers needing caching as part of a broader persistent data platform, offering more functionality than Memcached at the cost of greater operational complexity.

Regional players

• Memurai: Memurai is a Windows-native port of Memcached, offering the same protocol and API on Windows Server environments. It targets the geographic/operational niche of Windows-based enterprises that need a Memcached-compatible caching solution, complementing rather than directly competing with the Linux-native core project.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/memcached/memcached

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Memcached