# Context Mode Engine vs Agent Platform Memory Bank (slim)

> Agent Platform Memory Bank scores 65.6 (B) to Context Mode Engine's 54.6 (C) for memory search. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-google-memory-bank.md (~5,100 tokens) · this version ~2,480 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-google-memory-bank.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-google-memory-bank
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-07
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)

Agent Platform Memory Bank scores 65.6 (B) on agent readiness against Context Mode Engine's 54.6 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Context Mode Engine leads on agent ergonomics and payments & pricing. Both do memory search.

- Context Mode Engine: C 54.6, rank #898 of 1486 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/context-mode.min.md
- Agent Platform Memory Bank: B 65.6, rank #412 of 1486 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-memory-bank.min.md
- Context Mode Engine, good for Coding-agent users who want large tool output kept out of the context window on their own machine. Ahead on Agent ergonomics, 80 against 75; Payments & pricing, 40 against 20. Also No key needed to call it; Runs on your own machine.
- Agent Platform Memory Bank, good for Managed long-term memory for agents already on Google Cloud, especially with ADK and Agent Platform Sessions. Ahead on Reliability, 68 against 60; Schema & documentation, 75 against 67; Security & auth, 72 against 35; Maintenance & community, 62 against 55; Transparency & trust, 81 against 54. Also A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install.

| Category | Context Mode Engine | Agent Platform Memory Bank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 60 | 68 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 67 | 75 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 80 | 75 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 35 | 72 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 40 | 20 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 55 | 62 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 54 | 81 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Context Mode Engine | Agent Platform Memory Bank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |
| Vendor | MKSF LTD | Google Cloud |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://aiplatform.googleapis.com/v1` |
| Transports | stdio | HTTP |
| Auth | None | OAuth |
| Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use |
| Licence | Elastic License 2.0, source available with restrictions on hosted or managed services. | none |
| Tools exposed | 9 | none |
| Last release | 2026-11-05 | 2026-08-20 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2026-09-02 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-10-01 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 31k stars | none |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (4) | none |

Why the edge:
- Security & auth, Agent Platform Memory Bank +37: Context Mode Engine 35 (Read with the framework lines for a local MCP server. No credential of its own; code runs as the user under the agent's own permission checks (10). On Claude Code the PreToolUse hook applies the user's deny rules first, and `CONTEXT_MODE_REQUIRE_SECURITY=1` denies every call while a settings file is broken (15). `ctx_index` blocks private and link-local addresses when it fetches a URL, but no guidance on instructions inside fetched pages or tool output (0). Each project keeps a local session log of prompts, edits, commands and errors (10). No SECURITY.md, security.txt or disclosure route found, and no advisory names the package (0). 10+15+0+10+0 = 35.); Agent Platform Memory Bank 72 (OAuth 2.0 with IAM and service accounts (30), less 10, as for the other Google API listings, because the v1 discovery document lists `access_token`, `oauth_token` and `key` as query parameters (20 of 30). IAM Conditions can restrict access by memory scope; purge and delete have no confirmation (15 of 20). Memories are written by an LLM from conversation content and returned to agents, with no injection guidance found (5 of 15). Access Transparency and Access Approval are listed; Cloud Audit Logs coverage for Memory Bank wasn't read (12 of 15). Google's valid security.txt, vulnerability reward programme and certifications, with HIPAA listed for Memory Bank (20). Total 72.)
- Transparency & trust, Agent Platform Memory Bank +27: Context Mode Engine 54 (Elastic License 2.0, source available but not an OSI licence, with limits on offering it as a hosted service (15). The Engine privacy page says data stays in `~/.context-mode`, gives retention (indexed items go after 30 days unread, 500 MB per project, idle projects after 14 days) and deletion by `ctx_purge`. The site privacy page is a summary for the Gateway that points to e-mail for the full policy (25 of 30). No deprecation policy or dated notices (0). The README and docs state zero telemetry and list each network call, with a source test that flags new call sites. We found no telemetry in the source (20). 15+25+0+20 = 60.); Agent Platform Memory Bank 81 (Closed service under the Google Cloud terms (15). Data residency at rest, CMEK and the Cloud Data Processing Addendum apply; no Memory Bank retention period or time-to-live was read (20 of 30). The rename was announced in the release notes with old and new names listed, and Google's deprecation policy covers GA services (14 of 20). Google Cloud's subprocessor list and regional endpoints are published (16 of 20). Total 65.)
- Payments & pricing, Context Mode Engine +20: Context Mode Engine 40 (No machine payment protocol found (0). Scored on the hosted Gateway, the paid option. Extra requests cost $2.00 down to $1.00 per 1,000 by volume, published on the pricing page (20). A free plan of 1,000 requests every month, no card (20). A person signs in to the console with GitHub or Google (0). 0+20+20+0 = 40.); Agent Platform Memory Bank 20 (No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Storage, read and write prices are published without a login (20). No Memory Bank free tier found (0). A person creates the project, enables billing and sets up IAM in the console (0). Total 20.)
- Reliability, Agent Platform Memory Bank +8: Context Mode Engine 60 (Read with the local-package lines. Installs from npm as `context-mode`, with Node 24.15.0 or later stated in package.json and the README (20). A public CI workflow runs the test gate on macOS, Linux and Windows under Node 24.15.0 and 26 on every push, and the release workflow runs it before each publish. GitHub's pages answer 403 in this session, so run results couldn't be read (15 of 25). Open crash and regression issues weren't read (0). Versioned releases, with 2.0.0 a major for the rewrite and 2.0.0-next prereleases from 27 October, but no changelog file in the repository and the GitHub release notes unread (10 of 15). Version 2.1.0, past 1.0 (15). 20+15+0+10+15 = 60.); Agent Platform Memory Bank 68 (Hosted lines. Google Cloud status dashboard with per-product history (20). Its incident feed, read on 6 November 2026, holds four incidents since 8 August (20 August, 27 products; 1 September, us-central1-b; 8 October, Cloud Storage; 20 October, europe-west2, 38 products), and none names Agent Platform, Vertex or Memory Bank (30). No Memory Bank quotas or rate limits were found; the platform quotas path guessed returned 404 (0, unchecked). Generation is a long-running operation with wait and cancel methods, and Google's retry guidance wasn't re-read for this API (8 of 15). No SLA for Memory Bank was found in the pages read (0, unchecked). Memory profiles, IngestEvents and multi-regional endpoints are GA (10). Total 68.)
- Schema & documentation, Agent Platform Memory Bank +8: Context Mode Engine 67 (No published contract. The tool input schemas sit in the source, and the docs show them as a table (0 of 25). llms.txt and Markdown copies of every page on contextmode.ai (10). Each tool description says what it does and when to use it, for example `ctx_purge` "Use it only when the user asks to forget or reset data" (20). The tools reference lists each tool's inputs with optional fields and allowed values (`scope` session, worktree or project; `sort` relevance or timeline; `mode` upgrade or uninstall), and every tool rejects an unknown field with `UNKNOWN_FIELD` (12 of 15). Setup, doctor and troubleshooting pages with examples and fix lines (15). Tagged releases, without a readable changelog (10 of 15). 0+10+20+12+15+10 = 67.); Agent Platform Memory Bank 75 (Google's discovery document is a machine-readable contract for every memory method (25). No llms.txt or Markdown docs found (0). Method descriptions are 13 to 39 characters, one-line summaries, while the guides explain when to generate from sessions or from direct facts (12 of 20). Typed schemas with required fields in the discovery document (12 of 15). Python examples, a troubleshooting page and a documented 404 for deleted memories (11 of 15). v1 and v1beta1 and dated release notes (15). Total 75.)
- Maintenance & community, Agent Platform Memory Bank +7: Context Mode Engine 55 (v2.1.0 tagged on 5 November 2026 by the release workflow, after v2.0.0, v2.0.1 and v2.0.2 on 4 November, and the README now names 2.0 as the npm latest (30). Four stable releases in the 90 days from 7 August. 2.0.1 only fixes release manifests, and 2.0.0, 2.0.2 and 2.1.0 change code (20). Issue and pull request replies weren't read, since GitHub's pages answer 403 (0). No official MCP registry entry read (0). CI on three systems and two Node lines, results unread (5 of 10). 30+20+0+0+5 = 55.); Agent Platform Memory Bank 62 (The newest Memory Bank release notes are of 20 August 2026 (IngestEvents GA, metadata, Gemini Embedding 2), 78 days before the check, and billing started on 1 September (20). Three Memory Bank entries in the 90 days, all on 20 August (10 of 20). Public release notes and Cloud Customer Care (12 of 15). `google-cloud-agentplatform` 2.7.0 on 28 October 2026, twelve releases in 90 days per its PyPI release feed, plus ADK (15). SDK test status not checked (5 of 10). Total 62.)