# claude-mem vs Memory (MCP reference server)

> claude-mem scores 58.6 (C) to Memory's 54.4 (C) for agent memory. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-memory-reference-server
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-memory-reference-server.md (~3,100 tokens)
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- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-10-30

claude-mem scores 58.6 (C) on agent readiness against Memory (MCP reference server)'s 54.4 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Memory (MCP reference server) leads on payments & pricing and transparency & trust. Both do agent memory.

- claude-mem: grade C, 58.6/100, rank #677 of 1239. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/claude-mem.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/claude-mem.json
- Memory (MCP reference server): grade C, 54.4/100, rank #816 of 1239. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/memory-reference-server.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/memory-reference-server.json
- Best memory layers for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-memory/index.md
- All 188 memory comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-memory/index.md
- Best database, file and memory tools for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/data/index.md
- All 60 databases comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/data/index.md

## Which one, for what

### claude-mem (C)

Good for: Session memory for one developer's coding agents, recalled by staged MCP search, with optional hosted sync across machines.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 85 against 52
- Schema & documentation, 84 against 60
- Agent ergonomics, 74 against 67
- Security & auth, 50 against 32
- Maintenance & community, 76 against 43

Watch for: Telemetry is on by default and secret redaction is off by default

### Memory (MCP reference server) (C)

Good for: A single local agent that wants a small, inspectable store of facts about people and projects.

Ahead on:
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 20
- Transparency & trust, 74 against 46

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- No incidents deducted, where claude-mem loses 6 points for them

Watch for: No pagination or limits. `read_graph` returns everything and `search_nodes` every match


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | claude-mem | Memory (MCP reference server) | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 85 | 52 | claude-mem +33 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 84 | 60 | claude-mem +24 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 74 | 67 | claude-mem +7 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 50 | 32 | claude-mem +18 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 60 | Memory (MCP reference server) +40 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 76 | 43 | claude-mem +33 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 46 | 74 | Memory (MCP reference server) +28 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -6 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **58.6 · C** | **54.4 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | claude-mem | Memory (MCP reference server) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | MCP server |
| Vendor | Alex Newman | MCP project (reference servers) |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | stdio, HTTP | stdio |
| Auth | OAuth or key | None |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 for the engine, CLI, worker, MCP tools, adapters and docs. The hosted CMEM Pro observer, cloud sync and TeamBrain are closed and run under the cmem cloud terms | MIT and Apache-2.0 |
| Tools exposed | 19 | 9 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-29 | 2026-08-31 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | 2021-09-08 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2023-03-15 |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 106k stars, 30k npm/wk | 90k stars, 136k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 2.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**claude-mem.** Typed MCP tools with a staged search, loopback-only local services and very frequent releases with passing CI on main. Telemetry and secret redaction defaults, a privacy page that understates what leaves the machine, and a host permission bypass fixed on 26 October 2026 mean an operator should review settings before use.

**Memory (MCP reference server).** Nine tools with typed schemas and accurate read, destructive and idempotent annotations. No pagination or limits. `read_graph` returns everything and `search_nodes` every match.

## Before you call either

### claude-mem

1. Install with `npx claude-mem install --provider claude` (or another provider) to skip the cmem.ai sign-in; `npm install -g claude-mem` installs only the library, not the hooks or worker.
2. Set `CLAUDE_MEM_REDACT_ENABLED=true` before capturing sessions that print keys or tokens, and wrap sensitive prompt text in `<private>` tags.
3. Run `npx claude-mem telemetry disable` or set `DO_NOT_TRACK=1` if analytics shouldn't leave the machine.
4. Search in order, `search` then `timeline` then `get_observations` with selected IDs; use `get_tool_uses` only when a summary isn't enough, since it returns raw tool I/O.
5. Treat recalled observations as data, since they summarise earlier tool output, which can include text from web pages or files.

### Memory (MCP reference server)

1. Set `MEMORY_FILE_PATH` to an absolute path. The default sits inside the npx cache
2. Use `search_nodes` or `open_nodes` instead of `read_graph` once the graph has more than a few hundred entities
3. Make memory writes one at a time. Parallel calls in one turn can overwrite each other in 2026.8.31
4. Create both entities before `create_relations`. A missing endpoint fails the whole batch
5. Keep observations short and factual. They come back verbatim in every later read

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, claude-mem or Memory (MCP reference server)?

claude-mem scores 58.6 (C) on agent readiness against Memory (MCP reference server)'s 54.4 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Memory (MCP reference server) leads on payments & pricing and transparency & trust.

### Do claude-mem and Memory (MCP reference server) need an API key?

claude-mem takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Memory (MCP reference server) needs no key.

### Can an agent call claude-mem and Memory (MCP reference server) without installing anything?

claude-mem runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. Memory (MCP reference server) runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.

### Are claude-mem and Memory (MCP reference server) open source?

Yes. claude-mem is open source (Apache-2.0 for the engine, CLI, worker, MCP tools, adapters and docs. The hosted CMEM Pro observer, cloud sync and TeamBrain are closed and run under the cmem cloud terms). Memory (MCP reference server) is open source (MIT and Apache-2.0).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-memory-reference-server.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-memory-reference-server.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "claude-mem", "b": "memory-reference-server"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare claude-mem memory-reference-server`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/claude-mem.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/memory-reference-server.json

## Other comparisons with claude-mem or Memory (MCP reference server)

- [Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Memory vs claude-mem](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentcore-memory-vs-claude-mem.md)
- [Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Memory vs Memory (MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentcore-memory-vs-memory-reference-server.md)
- [claude-mem vs Cognee](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-cognee.md)
- [claude-mem vs Graphicle](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-graphicle.md)
- [claude-mem vs Graphiti](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-graphiti.md)
- [claude-mem vs Hindsight](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-hindsight.md)
- [claude-mem vs Honcho](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-honcho.md)
- [claude-mem vs Hy Memory](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-hy-memory.md)
- [claude-mem vs LangMem](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-langmem.md)
- [claude-mem vs LocalGhost](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-localghost.md)
- [claude-mem vs Mem0 Platform + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-mem0.md)
- [claude-mem vs MemPalace](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-mempalace.md)
- [claude-mem vs past.dev](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-past-dev.md)
- [claude-mem vs Supermemory API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-supermemory.md)
- [claude-mem vs TencentDB Agent Memory](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-tencentdb-agent-memory.md)
- [claude-mem vs Tokenrip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-tokenrip.md)
- [claude-mem vs Zep](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-zep.md)
- [Cognee vs Memory (MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cognee-vs-memory-reference-server.md)
- [Graphiti vs Memory (MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/graphiti-vs-memory-reference-server.md)
- [Hindsight vs Memory (MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hindsight-vs-memory-reference-server.md)
- [Honcho vs Memory (MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/honcho-vs-memory-reference-server.md)
- [Hy Memory vs Memory (MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hy-memory-vs-memory-reference-server.md)
- [LangMem vs Memory (MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/langmem-vs-memory-reference-server.md)
- [LocalGhost vs Memory (MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/localghost-vs-memory-reference-server.md)
- [Mem0 Platform + MCP vs Memory (MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mem0-vs-memory-reference-server.md)
- [Memory (MCP reference server) vs MemPalace](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/memory-reference-server-vs-mempalace.md)
- [Memory (MCP reference server) vs past.dev](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/memory-reference-server-vs-past-dev.md)
- [Memory (MCP reference server) vs Supermemory API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/memory-reference-server-vs-supermemory.md)
- [Memory (MCP reference server) vs TencentDB Agent Memory](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/memory-reference-server-vs-tencentdb-agent-memory.md)
- [Memory (MCP reference server) vs Tokenrip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/memory-reference-server-vs-tokenrip.md)
- [Memory (MCP reference server) vs Zep](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/memory-reference-server-vs-zep.md)
- [AI Memory vs claude-mem](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-memory-vs-claude-mem.md)
- [claude-mem vs Context Mode Engine](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-context-mode.md)

## Disclosure

- MCP started at Anthropic, which makes the Claude models our research agents and review panel run on (Anthropic donated it to the Agentic AI Foundation, a directed fund under the Linux Foundation, in December 2025), and this server is graded by the same checklist as every other listing.

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