# Context Mode Engine vs LangMem

> LangMem scores 47.9 (D) to Context Mode Engine's 45.8 (E) for memory search. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- Updated: 2026-10-19

LangMem scores 47.9 (D) on agent readiness against Context Mode Engine's 45.8 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Context Mode Engine leads on reliability and schema & documentation. Both do memory search.

- Context Mode Engine: grade E, 45.8/100, rank #993 of 1171. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/context-mode.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/context-mode.json
- LangMem: grade D, 47.9/100, rank #951 of 1171. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/langmem.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/langmem.json
- Best memory layers for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-memory/index.md
- All 103 memory comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-memory/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Context Mode Engine (E)

Good for: Context Mode Engine indexes tool output and session events locally for coding agents.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 45 against 32
- Schema & documentation, 65 against 55

Also in its favour:
- Runs on your own machine
- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.5 against 2.8 out of 5

Watch for: Hosted-service restrictions under Elastic License 2.0

### LangMem (D)

Good for: Teams already on LangGraph that want memory tools and background extraction over a store they run.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 45 against 35
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 40
- Maintenance & community, 15 against 10
- Transparency & trust, 59 against 42

Also in its favour:
- Open source

Watch for: The newest PyPI release, 0.0.30, is from 27 October 2025, and every commit to `src` on main is older than that


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Context Mode Engine | LangMem | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 45 | 32 | Context Mode Engine +13 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 55 | Context Mode Engine +10 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 66 | LangMem +1 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 35 | 45 | LangMem +10 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 60 | LangMem +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 10 | 15 | LangMem +5 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 42 | 59 | LangMem +17 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **45.8 · E** | **47.9 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Context Mode Engine | LangMem |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | SDK + MCP |
| Vendor | MKSF LTD | LangChain |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | stdio |  |
| Auth | None | None |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Elastic License 2.0, source available with restrictions on hosted or managed services. | MIT |
| Tools exposed | 11 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| Last release | 2026-06-29 | 2025-10-27 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | no document linked |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text |  |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text |  |
| Popularity | 31k stars | 1.7k stars, 214k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (4) | 2.8/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**Context Mode Engine.** Local indexing and selective retrieval. Hosted-service restrictions under Elastic License 2.0.

**LangMem.** Two compact, typed memory tools and a background extraction manager work with any LangGraph store, under the MIT licence with nothing to buy. The newest PyPI release, 0.0.30, dates from 27 October 2025. The repository has no changelog, tags or test workflow, and 23 of 54 open issues have no reply.

## Before you call either

### Context Mode Engine

1. Choose the installation guide for the exact coding client.
2. Check host permissions before enabling code execution.
3. Review the Elastic licence before hosting Engine for others.

### LangMem

1. Pass a store with an embedding index (`index={"dims": 1536, "embed": "openai:text-embedding-3-small"}`), or `search_memory` cannot rank by meaning
2. Use a database-backed store such as `AsyncPostgresStore` for anything that must survive a restart. `InMemoryStore` loses everything
3. Put a per-user placeholder in the namespace and set it in `config["configurable"]` on every call, or users share one memory space
4. Send the memory `id` with `update` and `delete`, and never with `create`. A retried `create` writes a duplicate under a new UUID
5. Run on Python 3.11 or later. `src/langmem/knowledge/extraction.py` uses `typing.NotRequired`, which Python 3.10 lacks

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Context Mode Engine or LangMem?

LangMem scores 47.9 (D) on agent readiness against Context Mode Engine's 45.8 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Context Mode Engine leads on reliability and schema & documentation.

### Can an agent call Context Mode Engine and LangMem without installing anything?

Context Mode Engine runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. No hosted endpoint is listed for LangMem.

### Are Context Mode Engine and LangMem open source?

No open-source release is listed for Context Mode Engine. LangMem is open source (MIT).


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Context Mode Engine or LangMem

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

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