AWS ElastiCache Pricing Explained (2026): Full Cost Breakdown with Examples

Amazon ElastiCache, AWS's managed in-memory cache service, offers three engines—Valkey, Redis OSS, and Memcached—each with distinct pricing models. In 2026, ElastiCache presents two main pricing structures: node-based and serverless. Node-based pricing charges a fixed hourly rate per node, while serverless pricing involves costs for data storage per GB-hour and compute units known as ECPUs. Valkey is noted for being the most cost-effective option, priced 20% below Redis OSS and Memcached for node-based and 33% lower for serverless. Additional costs can arise from replicas, cross-availability zone data transfers, backup storage, and surcharges for extended support on outdated Redis OSS versions. Discounts are available through reserved nodes and Database Savings Plans, though they require long-term commitments. In contrast, Upstash Redis offers a flexible pay-as-you-go model with no idle costs, fixed plans, and enterprise options for high-demand workloads, providing an alternative to ElastiCache.

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