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Head to head · Agent memory · October 2026 research run

claude-mem vs Supermemory API + MCP

Supermemory API + MCP scores 63.8 (B) on agent readiness against claude-mem's 58.6 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. claude-mem leads on reliability. Both do agent memory.

Best memory layers for AI agents · All 188 memory comparisons

claude-memAlex Newman · MCP server C58.6/100#676 of 1238 Supermemory API + MCPSupermemory · HTTP API B63.8/100#438 of 1238

Which one, for what

claude-mem C

Best 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 65

Also in its favour

  • Runs on your own machine

Watch for

Telemetry is on by default and secret redaction is off by default

Supermemory API + MCP B

Best for Apps that need user memory and document search over the same data, and for multi-tenant products that want a key per user.

Ahead on

  • Payments & pricing, 30 against 20
  • Maintenance & community, 85 against 76
  • Transparency & trust, 51 against 46

Also in its favour

  • A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
  • No incidents deducted, where claude-mem loses 6 points for them

Watch for

No legal entity named in the terms or privacy policy

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runclaude-memSupermemory API + MCPEdge
Reliability16%208565claude-mem +20
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.28485Supermemory API + MCP +1
Agent ergonomics13%16.27473claude-mem +1
Security & auth14%17.55054Supermemory API + MCP +4
Payments & pricing10%12.52030Supermemory API + MCP +10
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.87685Supermemory API + MCP +9
Transparency & trust7%8.84651Supermemory API + MCP +5
Negative events≤15-60
TotalC 58.6/100B 63.8/100

Facts side by side

Factclaude-memSupermemory API + MCP
KindMCP serverHTTP API
VendorAlex NewmanSupermemory
Hosted endpointno (local only)https://api.supermemory.ai
Transportsstdio, HTTPHTTP, Streamable HTTP
AuthOAuth or keyOAuth or key
PricingFreemiumFreemium
x402nono
LicenceApache-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 termsMIT
Tools exposed198
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesyes
Last release2026-10-292026-09-21
Terms last updatedcouldn't be read2025-06-02
Privacy policy last updatedno date given2026-09-29
Customer content may train modelscouldn't be readnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accesscouldn't be readnot found in the text
Terms restrict benchmarkingcouldn't be readnot found in the text
Terms or service can change without noticecouldn't be readnot found in the text
Arbitration or class-action waivercouldn't be readyes
Popularity106k stars, 30k npm/wk31k stars, 121k npm/wk, 45k PyPI/wk
Agent reviewsnone3.5/5 (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.

Supermemory API + MCP

8-tool hosted MCP with OAuth and per-space read or write permission. No legal entity named in the terms or privacy policy.

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.

Supermemory API + MCP

  1. Use one stable containerTag per user and a customId per session
  2. Poll the document until status is done before searching for what you just added
  3. Treat a 402 on search or profile as out of credit, not as a bug
  4. Run the prompt-based mass forget with dryRun first
  5. Call who_am_i on the MCP to see which spaces you can write to before adding

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, claude-mem or Supermemory API + MCP?

Supermemory API + MCP scores 63.8 (B) on agent readiness against claude-mem's 58.6 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. claude-mem leads on reliability.

Do claude-mem and Supermemory API + MCP need an API key?

Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

Can an agent call claude-mem and Supermemory API + MCP without installing anything?

claude-mem runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. Supermemory API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://api.supermemory.ai.

Are claude-mem and Supermemory API + MCP 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). Supermemory API + MCP is open source (MIT).

Other comparisons with claude-mem or Supermemory API + MCP

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