The best key-value stores, according to hackers
6 key-value stores were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 2 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The two most recommended key-value stores with the badge. Each figure is 2 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Fast reads, memory-efficient
Fast, memory-mapped embedded database that people trust for reads and large datasets, and crash-safe with default settings. Critics say writes slow down as databases grow.
Handles large scale well
Embedded key-value store people recommend for large-scale, high-throughput workloads, with good results in past projects. Critics report data loss and corruption, and say benchmarks depend heavily on configuration.
All 6 key-value stores, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same key-value store in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to key-value stores that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
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