Whitepaper

High-performance applications with distributed caching: Choosing the right solution

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CHALLENGES

Couchbase vs. Memcached

Memcached is a simple cache, while Couchbase is a scalable, persistent NoSQL database with advanced features.

CHALLENGE #1
Cold cache

Memcached failures overload the RDBMS. Couchbase ensures high availability with automatic data replication.

Memory storage
CHALLENGE #2
Limited features

Memcache functionality limits use cases. Couchbase is multipurpose.

Services
CHALLENGE #3
Scalability

Memcached scaling is complex and disruptive. Couchbase has auto-sharding and online rebalancing.

Scaling
CHALLENGE #4
Monitoring

Memcached lacks unified management. Couchbase offers a built-in admin console and APIs for streamlined cluster control.

Metrics, alerts, events
COMPARE

Couchbase vs. Memcached

Compare Couchbase and Memcached to see how Couchbase adds persistence, replication, querying, and scalability beyond simple key-value caching.

  • What’s included
  • In-memory caching
  • Scaling/sharding/clustering
  • Persistent storage option
  • Data access: SQL
  • Data access: text search
  • Data access: vector
  • Mobile capabilities
  • Role-based access control
  • Cross data center replication (XDCR)
  • Couchbase
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  • Memcached
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CUSTOMERS

What customers are saying

  • "Couchbase is a highly scalable, distributed data store that plays a critical role in LinkedIn’s caching systems."
    Michael Kehoe, Senior SRE, LinkedIn
    10+ million queries per second
    <4 ms average latency for 2.5B+ items
  • "Couchbase was able to embrace with us our vision to the cloud."
    Vincent Bersin, Manager, NoSQL Solutions, Amadeus
    20 million operations per second
    <2.5 ms response times
Ephemeral buckets

Memory-only storage comparable to Memcached with the scaling benefits of Couchbase.

Learn More



RESOURCES

Explore related resources

WHITEPAPER
High-performance applications with distributed caching
Read the paper
Concept
Write-back cache enhances system performance
Learn more
Blog
Couchbase multi-model capabilities
Browse the articles
See All Resources


Memcached frequently asked questions

Common questions and answers about memcached and Couchbase

  • Difference between memcache vs. memcached?

    Nothing. “memcache” is the software, “memcached” is the daemon program name. Most people now just say “memcached” for both due to naming convention and common usage.

  • How do you pronounce memcached?

    Is it memcached (as in “I just cached it”) or is it memcache-dee? Both are used widely in technical circles, but if you hold to its UNIX roots, you would pronounce it “memcache-dee.”

  • Does Couchbase support memcached?

    Couchbase once supported memcached-compatible buckets – still possible, but now deprecated and not recommended for new projects.

  • What should I use instead of memcached buckets?

    If you want memory-only storage, use an Ephemeral bucket. If you want memory-first with persistence to disk, use a Couchbase bucket.

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