Cognee alternatives (2026)

Cognee is a MCP & infra tool: Open-source memory platform that builds knowledge graphs so agents keep long-term memory. Pricing, as the maker states it: Open source + cloud. Its GitHub repo has 32,405 stars. We found 289 tools in the directory that do overlapping work (connecting tools with MCP, memory for agents); 166 of them are open source and 24 list a free or freemium plan. Below are the 10 closest, ranked by how many tasks and sub-tasks they share with Cognee, then by GitHub stars.

1. Codebase Memory MCP (Open source): MCP server that indexes codebases into a persistent knowledge graph so coding agents can look up structure quickly. Consider it because it also covers MCP servers; it has more GitHub stars (46,717 vs 32,405).
2. Graphiti (Open source): Builds real-time, temporal knowledge graphs that serve as memory for AI agents. Consider it because it does the same job with a different approach (open source).
3. Zep (See site): Context layer that unifies business data, documents and conversations into memory so agents complete tasks correctly. Consider it because it also covers RAG and documents.
4. Mem0 (Open source + cloud): Memory layer for AI agents. Consider it because it has more GitHub stars (67,147 vs 32,405).
5. MemPalace (Open source): Local-first AI memory system that stores conversations verbatim with a pluggable backend and serves recall to agents without API calls. Consider it because it also covers voice and phone agents and local and self-hosted; it has more GitHub stars (59,622 vs 32,405).
6. Hindsight (Open source + cloud): Agent memory system that stores experiences and learns from them so agents improve over time. Consider it because it has more GitHub stars (50,483 vs 32,405).
7. OpenViking (Open source): Context database for AI agents that keeps memory, knowledge and skills in one inspectable virtual filesystem agents can navigate. Consider it because it also covers SQL and databases and rules, skills and config; it has more GitHub stars (40,217 vs 32,405).
8. Chroma (Open source + cloud): Open-source search and vector database widely used for agent memory and RAG. Consider it because it also covers SQL and databases and RAG and documents.
9. TencentDB-Agent-Memory (Open source): Team-level memory hub that turns conversations, docs and code into shared memory for agents. Consider it because it does the same job with a different approach (open source).
10. memU (Open source): Lightweight memory system that gives Codex, Claude Code, Cursor and other agents a shared memory across sessions and devices and distills reusable skills. Consider it because it also covers rules, skills and config.

Cognee vs alternatives at a glance

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Alternatives are picked from directory data only: same category plus shared tasks and sub-tasks. Pricing is as each maker states it; GitHub stars as recorded on each listing.