Graphiti MCP Server (Zep) vs Official MCP Memory server
Graphiti MCP Server (Zep) vs Official MCP Memory server: side-by-side comparison of two claude code memory mechanisms systems — architecture, taxonomy, license, pricing, MCP/A2A support, and direct edges.
Cost & capability
| Graphiti MCP Server (Zep) | Official MCP Memory server | |
|---|---|---|
| Capability band | competent | entry |
| Capability composite | 50 | 35 |
| Cost tier | mid | free |
| $/Mtok input | — | 0 |
| $/Mtok output | — | 0 |
| Use cases | Code Generation Focused, Long Running Session, Multi Agent Coordination, Analytical Summarization | Code Generation Focused, Long Running Session, Offline Capable, Multi Agent Coordination |
Where they differ (15)
Rows where both sides have data and the values disagree — the shortlist of dimensions that actually distinguish these two systems.
| Graphiti MCP Server (Zep) | Official MCP Memory server | |
|---|---|---|
| Capability band | competent | entry |
| Capability composite | 50 | 35 |
| Cost tier | mid | free |
| Use cases | Code Generation Focused, Long Running Session, Multi Agent Coordination, Analytical Summarization | Code Generation Focused, Long Running Session, Offline Capable, Multi Agent Coordination |
| Type | Temporal KG with bi-temporal edges | KG-based persistent memory MCP |
| Created | 2024-08 | 2024-11 |
| Latest release | v0.31.2 (2026-10-20) | 2026.8.31 (2026-08-31) — @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory@2026.8.31 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 AND MIT (new contributions Apache-2.0; legacy code MIT; docs CC-BY-4.0) |
| GitHub | getzep/graphiti — ~31.9k stars, last commit 2026-10 | modelcontextprotocol/servers — ~90.0k stars, last release 2026-08 |
| Pricing | free tier: 2500 messages/mo + 2.5MB graph data; paid: $1.25/1000 messages + $2.50/MB extra; Enterprise custom | free / open source (Apache-2.0 / MIT) |
| Backend storage | Neo4j | file (JSON) |
| Deployment | cloud (Zep managed) or self-hosted via Graphiti OSS + Neo4j/local graph DB | local (Node.js MCP server; local JSON file) |
| API surface | MCP (stdio/HTTP) | MCP (stdio); knowledge-graph tools (create_entities/relations/observations, read/search/delete) |
| MCP | native (first-party) | native (first-party) — reference implementation |
| OpenTelemetry | searched not found | no |
At a glance
| Graphiti MCP Server (Zep) | Official MCP Memory server | |
|---|---|---|
| Section | Claude Code memory mechanisms | Claude Code memory mechanisms |
| Tier | T1 | T1 |
| Type | Temporal KG with bi-temporal edges | KG-based persistent memory MCP |
| Created | 2024-08 | 2024-11 |
| Latest release | v0.31.2 (2026-10-20) | 2026.8.31 (2026-08-31) — @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory@2026.8.31 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 AND MIT (new contributions Apache-2.0; legacy code MIT; docs CC-BY-4.0) |
| GitHub | getzep/graphiti — ~31.9k stars, last commit 2026-10 | modelcontextprotocol/servers — ~90.0k stars, last release 2026-08 |
| Pricing | free tier: 2500 messages/mo + 2.5MB graph data; paid: $1.25/1000 messages + $2.50/MB extra; Enterprise custom | free / open source (Apache-2.0 / MIT) |
| Backend storage | Neo4j | file (JSON) |
| Deployment | cloud (Zep managed) or self-hosted via Graphiti OSS + Neo4j/local graph DB | local (Node.js MCP server; local JSON file) |
| API surface | MCP (stdio/HTTP) | MCP (stdio); knowledge-graph tools (create_entities/relations/observations, read/search/delete) |
| Embedding | multiple supported | — |
| Multi-tenancy | namespace | — |
| MCP | native (first-party) | native (first-party) — reference implementation |
| A2A | not supported | not supported |
| OpenTelemetry | searched not found | no |
| 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 | Graphiti MCP Server (Zep) | Official MCP Memory server |
|---|---|---|
| storage | graph | graph |
| retrieval | graph-traversal | graph-traversal |
| persistence | long-term | cross-session |
| update | append-only | overwrite |
| unit | episode | fact |
| governance | auditable | inspectable |
| conflict | bi-temporal | llm-arbitrate |
Pros & cons
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.
Official MCP Memory server
Pros: Reference implementation in the MCP spec; smallest possible memory primitive — useful for testing and lightweight cases.
Cons: Minimal feature set — no extraction, no governance, no retention policy; production deployments quickly outgrow it.