# Memory (MCP reference server) vs Zep (slim)

> Zep scores 69.3 (B) to Memory's 54.2 (C) for agent memory. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/memory-reference-server-vs-zep.md (~2,450 tokens) · this version ~780 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/memory-reference-server-vs-zep.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/memory-reference-server-vs-zep
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · Updated: 2026-10-01

Zep scores 69.3 (B) on agent readiness against Memory (MCP reference server)'s 54.2 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Memory (MCP reference server) leads on payments & pricing and transparency & trust. Both do agent memory.

- Memory (MCP reference server): C 54.2, rank #690 of 950 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/memory-reference-server.min.md
- Zep: B 69.3, rank #190 of 950 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/zep.min.md
- Memory (MCP reference server), good for A single local agent that wants a small, inspectable store of facts about people and projects. Ahead on Payments & pricing, 60 against 30; Transparency & trust, 72 against 57. Also No key needed to call it; Runs on your own machine; Open source.
- Zep, good for Agents that must track how facts about a person or account change over time, inside a team that needs access policies and audit logs. Ahead on Reliability, 65 against 52; Schema & documentation, 89 against 60; Security & auth, 84 against 32; Maintenance & community, 80 against 43. Also A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install; Free to start without a card; Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 4.0 against 2.5 out of 5.

| Category | Memory (MCP reference server) | Zep |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 52 | 65 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 60 | 89 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 67 | 70 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 32 | 84 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 60 | 30 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 43 | 80 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 72 | 57 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Memory (MCP reference server) | Zep |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |
| Vendor | MCP project (reference servers) | Zep |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.getzep.com/api/v2` |
| Transports | stdio | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | None | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Free | Freemium |
| Licence | MIT and Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 (examples repo). The service is closed-source |
| Tools exposed | 9 | 12 |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-08-31 | 2026-09-24 |
| Terms last updated | 2021-09-08 | 2026-08-17 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2023-03-15 | 2024-01-27 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 90k stars, 136k npm/wk | 4.9k stars, 130k npm/wk, 87k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (2) | 4/5 (2) |