claude-mem vs Graphiti MCP Server (Zep)
claude-mem vs Graphiti MCP Server (Zep): side-by-side comparison of two claude code memory mechanisms systems — architecture, taxonomy, license, pricing, MCP/A2A support, and direct edges.
Cost & capability
| claude-mem | Graphiti MCP Server (Zep) | |
|---|---|---|
| Capability band | competent | competent |
| Capability composite | 55 | 50 |
| Cost tier | free | mid |
| $/Mtok input | 0 | — |
| $/Mtok output | 0 | — |
| Use cases | Code Generation Focused, Long Running Session | Code Generation Focused, Long Running Session, Multi Agent Coordination, Analytical Summarization |
Where they differ (14)
Rows where both sides have data and the values disagree — the shortlist of dimensions that actually distinguish these two systems.
| claude-mem | Graphiti MCP Server (Zep) | |
|---|---|---|
| Capability composite | 55 | 50 |
| Cost tier | free | mid |
| Use cases | Code Generation Focused, Long Running Session | Code Generation Focused, Long Running Session, Multi Agent Coordination, Analytical Summarization |
| Type | Episodic / session-log compression | Temporal KG with bi-temporal edges |
| Created | 2025-09 | 2024-08 |
| Latest release | v15.0.1 (2026-10-20) | v0.31.2 (2026-10-20) |
| GitHub | thedotmack/claude-mem — ~104k stars, last commit 2026-10 | getzep/graphiti — ~31.9k stars, last commit 2026-10 |
| Pricing | Open-source engine free (Apache-2.0, local memory); CMEM Pro hosted observation + cloud sync + private MCP recall: Pro $30/mo, Heavy $70/mo, CMEM Max $100/mo (with billed overage), 30-day free trial; TeamBrain team pricing not announced (pilot) | free tier: 2500 messages/mo + 2.5MB graph data; paid: $1.25/1000 messages + $2.50/MB extra; Enterprise custom |
| Backend storage | searched not found | Neo4j |
| Deployment | local — SQLite + FTS5 per project; optional Chroma vector; no cloud | cloud (Zep managed) or self-hosted via Graphiti OSS + Neo4j/local graph DB |
| API surface | searched not found | MCP (stdio/HTTP) |
| Embedding | searched not found | multiple supported |
| Multi-tenancy | searched not found | namespace |
| OpenTelemetry | no | searched not found |
At a glance
| claude-mem | Graphiti MCP Server (Zep) | |
|---|---|---|
| Section | Claude Code memory mechanisms | Claude Code memory mechanisms |
| Tier | T1 | T1 |
| Type | Episodic / session-log compression | Temporal KG with bi-temporal edges |
| Created | 2025-09 | 2024-08 |
| Latest release | v15.0.1 (2026-10-20) | v0.31.2 (2026-10-20) |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| GitHub | thedotmack/claude-mem — ~104k stars, last commit 2026-10 | getzep/graphiti — ~31.9k stars, last commit 2026-10 |
| Pricing | Open-source engine free (Apache-2.0, local memory); CMEM Pro hosted observation + cloud sync + private MCP recall: Pro $30/mo, Heavy $70/mo, CMEM Max $100/mo (with billed overage), 30-day free trial; TeamBrain team pricing not announced (pilot) | free tier: 2500 messages/mo + 2.5MB graph data; paid: $1.25/1000 messages + $2.50/MB extra; Enterprise custom |
| Backend storage | searched not found | Neo4j |
| Deployment | local — SQLite + FTS5 per project; optional Chroma vector; no cloud | cloud (Zep managed) or self-hosted via Graphiti OSS + Neo4j/local graph DB |
| API surface | searched not found | MCP (stdio/HTTP) |
| Embedding | searched not found | multiple supported |
| Multi-tenancy | searched not found | namespace |
| MCP | native (first-party) | native (first-party) |
| A2A | not supported | not supported |
| OpenTelemetry | no | searched not found |
| Optimised for | Claude-Code-native + MCP-portable memory | Claude-Code-native + MCP-portable memory |
| Anti-fit | not for non-Claude-Code clients (some are MCP-portable) | not for non-Claude-Code clients (some are MCP-portable) |
Taxonomy
| Axis | claude-mem | Graphiti MCP Server (Zep) |
|---|---|---|
| storage | file | graph |
| retrieval | injection | graph-traversal |
| persistence | cross-session | long-term |
| update | consolidation | append-only |
| unit | summary | episode |
| governance | inspectable | auditable |
| conflict | append | bi-temporal |
Pros & cons
claude-mem
Pros: OSS plugin that adds auto-memory + indexing without sending data to Anthropic's cloud — strongest privacy posture for Claude Code memory.
Cons: Plugin install + maintenance burden; less polished than first-party auto-memory.
Graphiti MCP Server (Zep)
Pros: MCP exposure of Graphiti's bi-temporal KG gives any agent contradiction-aware memory; first-party vendor support.
Cons: KG memory is heavier than vector for the same data; MCP setup more involved than installing an embedded SDK.