AgentScout / Best lists / Cognee alternatives
Cognee alternatives (2026)
Cognee is a memory & RAG 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 40 tools in the directory that do overlapping work (memory for agents); 35 of them are open source and 0 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.
Updated
Quick comparison Top 10 of 11 listed below. Pricing as the maker states it; blank means we don't have it.
| Tool | Pricing | Best for | Open source |
|---|---|---|---|
 Graphiti | Open source | Give agents memory | Yes |
 Zep | Freemium | Give agents memory | |
 Claude-Mem | Open source | Write code | Yes |
 Mem0 | Open source + cloud | Give agents memory | Yes |
 MemPalace | Open source | Give agents memory | Yes |
 Hindsight | Open source + cloud | Give agents memory | Yes |
 OpenViking | Open source | Give agents memory | Yes |
 Supermemory | Open source + cloud | Connect tools via MCP | Yes |
 AgentMemory | Open source | Write code | Yes |
 Chroma | Open source + cloud | Research the web | Yes |
- 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).
- 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.
- Claude-Mem (Open source): Gives coding agents memory across sessions by capturing what they do, compressing it and feeding the relevant context back in later. Consider it because it has more GitHub stars (101,230 vs 32,405).
- Mem0 (Open source + cloud): Memory layer for AI agents. Consider it because it has more GitHub stars (67,147 vs 32,405).
- 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).
- 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).
- 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).
- Supermemory (Open source + cloud): Memory and context engine for agents with an API, app and MCP server, which can also run fully locally. Consider it because it also covers MCP servers and local and self-hosted.
- AgentMemory (Open source): Persistent memory layer for AI coding agents. Consider it because it does the same job with a different approach (open source).
- 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.
Cognee vs alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Pricing | Open source / licence | GitHub stars | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cognee | Open source + cloud | Apache License 2.0 | 32,405 | memory for agents |
| Graphiti | Open source | Apache License 2.0 | 31,819 | memory for agents |
| Zep | See site | No | 4,966 | working with documents, memory for agents |
| Claude-Mem | Open source | Apache License 2.0 | 101,230 | writing code, memory for agents |
| Mem0 | Open source + cloud | Apache License 2.0 | 67,147 | memory for agents |
| MemPalace | Open source | MIT | 59,622 | building voice agents, memory for agents |
| Hindsight | Open source + cloud | MIT | 50,483 | memory for agents |
| OpenViking | Open source | GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 | 40,217 | data analysis, memory for agents |
| Supermemory | Open source + cloud | MIT | 31,281 | building voice agents, connecting tools with MCP |
| AgentMemory | Open source | Apache License 2.0 | 29,593 | writing code, memory for agents |
| Chroma | Open source + cloud | Apache License 2.0 | 29,512 | research, data analysis |
More: Cognee listing · All memory & RAG tools · All alternatives pages
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.