Redis licensing covers the terms under which Redis Ltd. and its affiliates distribute the Redis in-memory data store and sell their commercial offerings around it. There are three distinct regimes. Redis Open Source is free software whose licence depends on the version. Redis Cloud is a managed service under the Redis Cloud Agreement. Redis Software is the self-managed enterprise product, licensed under the Redis Software Agreement.[1] In Redis’s words, its “proprietary products are closed source and require a commercial license from Redis Ltd.”[1] The contracting entity depends on the customer’s domicile. It is Redis Inc. for the Americas, Asia-Pacific and other regions, Redis Ltd. for Israel, and Redis EMEA Ltd. for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.[2]
Editions
| Offering | How it is licensed | Catalog rows | Deeper article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Redis Open Source 8+ | Free; user’s choice of RSALv2, SSPLv1 or AGPLv3[1] | Redis Open Source | Redis open-source licences |
| Redis Cloud Free and Essentials | Hourly on-demand plans sized by database memory[4] | Free, Essentials, Essentials with Redis Flex | Redis Cloud plans and agreement |
| Redis Cloud Pro | Pay as you go or annual commitment; dedicated deployment[7] | Pro | same |
| Redis Software | Subscription per cluster in Software units: shards, or Platform Capacity Units for 8.0+ Platform Tiers[2][5] | Real-Time Platform, Redis ML Platform, Redis AI Platform, Redis AI Platform+ | Redis Software licensing |
| Redis Insight, Redis for VS Code | Commercial licence for paying customers; SSPLv1 for others[1] | Redis Insight | Redis open-source licences |
Licence history
The open-source licence has changed twice. Redis 7.2.x and earlier remain under the BSD-3-Clause licence. On 2024-03-20, Redis announced that from Redis 7.4 it would be dual-licensed under the Redis Source Available License v2 (RSALv2) and the Server Side Public License v1 (SSPLv1). It described the change as not retroactive.[9] On 2025-05-01, Redis added the OSI-approved AGPLv3 as a third option, starting with Redis 8.[10] The licences page summarises the result as three version bands: BSD-3-Clause for 7.2 and earlier, RSALv2 or SSPLv1 for 7.4, and RSALv2 or SSPLv1 or AGPLv3 for 8 and later.[1] Catalog proof: Licence depends on version: BSD-3-Clause to 7.2, RSALv2/SSPLv1 for 7.4 to 7.8; Redis Open Source 8+ is licensed under the user's choice of RSALv2, SSPLv1 or AGPLv3.
Redis has said the source-available licences are aimed at competitors. “Organizations providing competitive offerings to Redis will no longer be permitted to use new versions of the source code of Redis free of charge”, whereas internal or personal use is unchanged.[9] RSALv2 forbids making the software’s functionality “available to third parties as a service”.[11] Catalog proof: The 2024 change targeted competitive offerings; internal use is unaffected; RSALv2 forbids offering the software's functionality to third parties as a service.
Metrics
| Unit | Catalog row | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Shard, by type (RAM or flash) | Shard | Redis Software cluster licence keys |
| 25 GB and 25,000 ops/sec (Redis Database), or 25 GB (Redis Flex) | Platform Capacity Unit | Redis Software 8.0+ Platform Tiers |
| Unit stated in the Transaction | Software unit | Redis Software Agreement |
| Database memory size | Database memory size | Redis Cloud Essentials |
| Hour of service | Hourly usage | Redis Cloud Essentials and Pro |
| Annual commitment | Committed Expenditure | Redis Cloud Pro annual plans |
The Redis Software Agreement grants use “up to the number of Software units specified in a Transaction”. It does not itself fix the unit.[2] The cluster licence key “determines shard usage and limits”.[6] For Redis Software 8.0 and later, the Platform Tiers page sizes licences in Platform Capacity Units.[5]
Counting / floors
Replicas count. Redis Software’s trial limit of four shards includes “master and replica shards”.[6] The Platform Tiers page states that high availability “requires 2x the base capacity to support replicas”.[5] In Redis Cloud, replication “requires a memory limit that is double the dataset size”, and an Essentials plan size includes replication.[12] Catalog proof: High availability doubles the capacity or memory that must be licensed.
True-up rather than hard caps for Redis Software. At the end of each three-month period, or another period Redis sets, Redis Software customers report unit usage. Usage above the licensed quantity is invoiced as a prorated True-up Fee.[2] Catalog proof: Quarterly usage reports and prorated True-up Fees for Redis Software.
Cloud floors. Free is “Always $0” for 30 MB. Essentials starts “From $0.007 /hour”, a total of USD 5 per month. Pro starts “From $0.014 /hour” with a minimum of USD 200 per month.[4] Annual Pro customers pay their Committed Expenditure “regardless of its level of use”.[3] Catalog proof: Redis Cloud Pro on-demand pricing has a USD 200 monthly minimum; Redis Cloud Committed Expenditure is payable regardless of use.
Virtualization & partitioning
Redis does not count processors, cores or hosts. Capacity is measured in shards, memory and throughput. The binding constraint is the cluster: “A single license can only be deployed on a single cluster”. Passive or cold standby clusters used for disaster recovery each need their own licence.[6] Catalog proof: Every Redis Software cluster, including standby DR clusters, needs its own licence.
Cloud / BYOL
Redis Cloud runs on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud and is sold directly or through partner marketplaces.[4] Buyers through a marketplace or Partner remain responsible for the full Subscription Term fees.[3] Under the Bring Your Own Cloud appendix, Redis operates the service inside the customer’s own cloud account. It may ask for a usage report and bill any excess as a True-up Fee.[3] Redis Software can run in any infrastructure the customer controls under the same per-cluster rules. Catalog proof: Marketplace and Partner buyers remain liable for full Subscription Term fees; BYOC deployments report usage on request and pay True-up Fees for excess.
Programs
- Redis Software Agreement and Redis Cloud Agreement. Both were last updated 2026-05-15 and are also called the Redis EULA.[2][3]
- Redis Software True-up. Quarterly usage reports.[2]
- Redis Support Packages. Basic, Developer, Business, Enterprise and Premium Enterprise. The package is determined by total annual fees and is “not separable from the license”.[8][2]
- Redis End of Life Policy. Each Major Release is supported for 18 months after the next Major Release.[8]
- Evaluation Software and Previews, BYOC and Marketplace and Partner purchases.[2][3]
Audits and compliance
Both commercial agreements let Redis “inspect Customer’s records relating to its use” to verify compliance “for up to 1 year following termination”. Neither states a notice period or a cost-shifting threshold.[2][3] Both agreements prohibit publishing benchmarks without approval, and both prohibit reselling or making the product available to third parties.[2][3] The Software Agreement allows use behind a customer’s application “as long as Customer’s end users cannot access the Software directly”.[2] Where a commercial product contains code that is also available under open-source or source-available licences, the commercial licence “supersedes the terms of such licenses for those portions”.[2] Catalog proof: Redis may inspect usage records for up to one year after termination; Redis Software is licensed for internal operations up to the units in the Transaction; The commercial licence supersedes open-source or source-available terms for included portions. For the general practice see software license audit and true-up.
Out of scope
- Azure Managed Redis and other cloud-provider Redis services sold under the cloud provider’s own terms.
- Redis client libraries, which Redis says remain open source licensed.[9]
- Negotiated Order Forms and list prices for Redis Software, which Redis does not publish.
- Forks of Redis maintained by other organizations.