Mem0 Platform + MCP vs Zep

Mem0 Platform + MCP

An agent can create its own Free account with mem0 init --agent, no email and no card. Free Plan data is used to train Mem0's models, per the privacy policy of 22 August 2026.

Zep

Facts that new data invalidates keep the time they stopped being true. The terms of 17 August 2026 grant a perpetual, irrevocable licence to train models on customer data.

Mem0 Platform + MCP

1. Send the REST key as Authorization: Token <key>, and the MCP key as Bearer
2. Don't search for a memory straight after adding it. Adds are queued, so poll get_event_status with the returned event ID
3. Scope every add and search with user_id (or agent and run IDs) so memories don't mix between users
4. Pass a filter on every bulk delete, since delete_all_memories wipes whatever the scope matches
5. On Hobby and Starter, count retrievals rather than adds. The retrieval quota is a tenth the size

Zep

1. Create the user and a thread before adding messages, as the quickstart does
2. Set return_context when adding messages to skip a second round trip
3. Keep episodes short. Every 350 bytes past the first costs another credit
4. Read Retry-After on a 429 and back off with jitter. Free accounts over quota drop to 5 requests a minute
5. Expect a delay after a graph add (202 Accepted) before new facts show up in search