SurrealDB vs Redis Cloud
A detailed comparison to help you choose between SurrealDB and Redis Cloud.
Quick Verdict
3.6/5
SurrealDB
0 reviews
3.6/5
Redis Cloud
0 reviews
Both SurrealDB and Redis Cloud are equally rated at 3.6/5. SurrealDB is a multi-model database that handles relational, document, graph, and full-text queries in a single database. Schema-optional, built-in auth, and real-time subscriptions. Redis Cloud is the official managed Redis service from Redis Ltd, the creators of Redis. Offers Redis Stack with JSON, search, and time series. Multi-cloud on AWS, GCP, Azure.
SurrealDB Multi-model database with built-in real-time sync and WebSocket support | Redis Cloud Managed Redis from the original creators | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.6 (0 reviews) | 3.6 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | freemium | freemium |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Best for | Teams building real-time, multi-model applications that would otherwise combine a document database, a search engine and a graph store | Teams running business-critical caching, session, real-time or vector workloads who want the Redis engine operated by its creators, with backups and SLAs included on paid plans. |
| Specifications (entry plan) | ||
| CPU cores | 0 vCPU | — |
| RAM | 1 GB | — |
| Storage | 1 GB | — |
| Bandwidth | — | — |
| SLA uptime | — | 99.99% |
| Data-center count | 3 | — |
| €/GB RAM/mo | €0.00 | — |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ||
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | AWS Ireland (aws-euw1), AWS US East N. Virginia (aws-use1), AWS US West Oregon (aws-usw2) | — |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tieropen sourceself hostableapi access | free tiermanaged optionbackups includedeu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenterapi access |
| Visit SurrealDB → | Visit Redis Cloud → | |
SurrealDB
Pros
- + One engine for relational, document, graph, time-series and geospatial data, plus full-text and vector search
- + Transparent published rate table with a real free instance (0.25 vCPU, 1 GB memory, 1 GB storage)
- + Hourly billing keeps development and prototype instances cheap
- + Granular permissions at table, document and field level defined in the schema
- + Self-hostable under BSL 1.1 with open-source (Apache 2.0 / MIT) SDKs as an exit path
Cons
- - Young database: 1.0 in 2023 and the storage engine is still being replaced
- - Only three AWS regions (Ireland, N. Virginia, Oregon) — nothing in APAC
- - Smaller ecosystem, tooling and hiring pool than PostgreSQL or MongoDB
- - Scale plan requires a three-node minimum; several advertised features are still marked coming soon
- - Custom SLAs only at Enterprise tier; backup retention policy for free instances is ambiguous in the docs
Redis Cloud
Pros
- + Managed by the stewards of upstream Redis, running the same engine (Redis 8) rather than a fork
- + Real free tier for learning and a low $5/month Essentials entry with published per-hour math
- + Paid plans include scheduled backups (daily on Essentials, hourly-capable on Pro) to your own S3/GCS/Azure/FTP
- + Broad footprint: AWS, Google Cloud and Azure regions across multiple continents, private connectivity on Pro
- + Redis 8 turns the cache into a document, search, vector and time-series engine in one binary
Cons
- - Costs compound fast at production scale — in-memory data plus HA plus multi-region is expensive
- - Free plan is tiny (30 MB, 100 ops/sec, no replication, no backups) and Essentials caps throughput per tier
- - Essentials database size includes replication — HA halves usable capacity
- - Published storage ceilings conflict between pages (12 GB vs 100 GB for Essentials)
- - Licensing history (2024 source-available switch) requires reading the license matrix for embedded use
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