Heroku Redis
Key value databases
Database software
NoSQL databases
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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What is Heroku Redis
Heroku Redis is a managed Redis service offered as an add-on for applications running on the Heroku platform. It provides an in-memory key-value data store commonly used for caching, session storage, rate limiting, queues, and pub/sub messaging. The service is provisioned and operated by Heroku, with plan-based options for capacity and features such as persistence and high availability. It is typically used by teams that want Redis without managing infrastructure, especially in Heroku-based deployments.
Managed operations on Heroku
Heroku Redis handles provisioning, patching, and routine operational tasks through the Heroku add-on model. It integrates with Heroku apps via environment variables and standard Redis connection strings. This reduces the operational overhead compared with self-managed Redis deployments. It fits teams standardizing on Heroku for application hosting and add-on services.
Low-latency in-memory access
Redis is designed for fast reads and writes by keeping working data in memory. This makes Heroku Redis well-suited for caching, ephemeral data, and high-throughput counters and rate limits. It can improve application responsiveness when used to offload repeated reads from primary databases. The data model supports common patterns such as key expiration and atomic increments.
Common Redis features available
Heroku Redis supports standard Redis clients and commands, enabling broad language and framework compatibility. Depending on plan, it offers options such as persistence and high-availability configurations to reduce downtime risk. It also supports pub/sub patterns used for real-time notifications and lightweight messaging. These capabilities cover many application-side use cases without requiring a full multi-model database.
Not a general-purpose database
Heroku Redis is optimized for key-value and in-memory workloads rather than complex querying and rich data modeling. It is not a drop-in replacement for relational databases or multi-model NoSQL systems that provide secondary indexes and query languages. Applications needing flexible ad hoc queries or complex joins typically require another primary datastore. Using Redis as a system of record requires careful design around persistence and recovery.
Memory-bound cost and scaling
Because performance depends heavily on RAM, capacity increases can become expensive compared with disk-oriented databases for large datasets. Scaling often involves moving to larger plans or sharding at the application level, which adds complexity. Workloads with large values or high key cardinality can hit memory limits quickly. This can constrain use cases where the dataset grows beyond cache-sized footprints.
Platform and service constraints
Heroku Redis is primarily intended for Heroku-hosted applications and follows Heroku’s operational model and plan limits. Some advanced Redis deployment controls (custom topology, module selection, or deep configuration) may be restricted compared with self-managed environments. Network placement and connectivity patterns are tied to Heroku’s architecture, which can complicate hybrid or multi-cloud designs. Teams with strict infrastructure control requirements may find the managed abstraction limiting.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mini | $3 per month (max), approx $0.004/hour | 25 MB RAM, multitenant, ~20 connections; intended for small projects/POC; prorated to the second. |
| Premium 0 | $15 per month (max), approx $0.021/hour | 50 MB RAM, multitenant, higher connection limits and HA compared to Mini; production-capable. |
| Premium 1 | $30 per month (max), approx $0.042/hour | 100 MB RAM, multitenant, higher throughput and connection limits. |
| Premium 2 | $60 per month (max), approx $0.083/hour | 250 MB RAM, multitenant, increased connections and performance. |
| Premium 3 | $120 per month (max), approx $0.167/hour | 500 MB RAM, multitenant, production-grade with HA. |
| Premium 5 | $200 per month (max), approx $0.278/hour | 1 GB RAM, multitenant, higher capacity and connections. |
| Premium 7 | $750 per month (starting) | 7 GB RAM (single-tenant at higher tiers), high throughput, single-tenant options; for intense workloads. |
| Premium 9 | $1,450 per month (starting) | 10 GB RAM, single-tenant at higher tiers, very large production workloads. |
| Premium 10 | $3,500 per month (starting) | 25 GB RAM, high-capacity single-tenant instances. |
| Premium 12 | $6,500 per month (starting) | 50 GB RAM, very high-capacity single-tenant. |
| Premium 14 | $12,500 per month (starting) | 100 GB RAM, top-tier capacity. |
| Private-3 | $150 per month | Private Space plan: 500 MB RAM, 400 connections, region support, fork support, metrics to app log stream. |
| Private-5 | $250 per month | Private Space plan: 750 MB RAM, 700 connections. |
| Private-7 | $900 per month | Private Space plan: 7 GB RAM, 10,000 connections. |
| Private-9 | $1,750 per month | Private Space plan: 10 GB RAM, 25,000 connections. |
| Private-10 | $4,000 per month | Private Space plan: 25 GB RAM, 40,000 connections. |
| Private-12 | $7,500 per month | Private Space plan: 50 GB RAM, 65,000 connections. |
| Private-14 | $14,000 per month | Private Space plan: 100 GB RAM, 65,000 connections. |
| Shield-3 | $210 per month | Shield Private Space plan: 500 MB RAM, 400 connections; stricter isolation/encryption and Shield compliance. |
| Shield-5 | $350 per month | Shield Private Space plan: 750 MB RAM, 700 connections. |
| Shield-7 | $1,100 per month | Shield plan: 7 GB RAM, 10,000 connections. |
| Shield-9 | $2,100 per month | Shield plan: 10 GB RAM, 25,000 connections. |
| Shield-10 | $4,800 per month | Shield plan: 25 GB RAM, 40,000 connections. |
| Shield-12 | $9,000 per month | Shield plan: 50 GB RAM, 65,000 connections. |
| Shield-14 | $19,600 per month | Shield plan: 100 GB RAM, 65,000 connections. |
Notes: Prices are presented as monthly maxima; Heroku bills add-ons per second (hourly shown as approximate) and prorates charges. TLS is required for Key-Value Store plans; higher (Premium/Private/Shield) plans include HA and encrypted-at-rest storage. Source: Heroku official docs and add-on listing.
Seller details
Salesforce, Inc.
San Francisco, CA, USA
1999
Public
https://www.salesforce.com/
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https://www.linkedin.com/company/salesforce/
