Many workloads default to using Redis or Memcached without evaluating whether a lighter or more efficient engine would provide equivalent functionality at lower cost. Valkey is a Redis-compatible, open-source engine supported by ElastiCache that may offer improved price-performance and licensing benefits. For read-heavy or stateless workloads that don’t require Redis-specific features (e.g., persistence, advanced replication), Valkey can often be used as a drop-in replacement. Memcached, while simple, lacks key features like replication and persistence, and may be less cost-effective for certain access patterns. Choosing the wrong engine can result in overpaying for capabilities that aren’t needed — or missing opportunities to optimize.