---
title: "Cognee vs Zep: Which is Better in 2026? | App Stack Builder"
description: "Cognee vs Zep compared for 2026 — pricing, free tiers, features, pros & cons. See which ai agent memory tool is the better fit for your startup."
source: https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/cognee-vs-zep
retrieved: 2026-10-17
---

![](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=cognee.ai&sz=128)

vs

![](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=getzep.com&sz=128)

# Cognee vs Zep: Which is Better in 2026?

AI Agent Memory

Choosing between [Cognee](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/cognee) and [Zep](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/zep)? Both are popular ai agent memory tools. Below we compare them on pricing, free tiers, features, and pros & cons so you can pick the right fit for your stack.

Quick verdict

Both are solid ai agent memory options. Cognee is cheaper to start, but the right choice depends on the specific features and integrations you need.

## Cognee vs Zep — Side by Side

|                | Cognee                                         | Zep                                         |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| Category       | AI Agent Memory                                | AI Agent Memory                             |
| Pricing        | Free · paid from $1/mo                         | Free · paid from $125/mo                    |
| Starting price | Free tier available                            | Free tier available                         |
| Free tier      | ✓                                              | ✓                                           |
| Rating         | 4.4                                            | 4.5                                         |
| Best for       | AI Agent Memory — knowledge-graph, open-source | AI Agent Memory — knowledge-graph, temporal |

## Pros & Cons

![](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=cognee.ai&sz=128)

[Cognee](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/cognee)

* ✓Graph memory with evidence for every answer
* ✓Runs locally without an LLM key
* ✓Cheap usage-based cloud
* ✗More moving parts than a plain memory API
* ✗Graph extraction adds ingest latency
* ✗Smaller ecosystem than Mem0

![](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=getzep.com&sz=128)

[Zep](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/zep)

* ✓Temporal graph: knows when facts changed
* ✓Retrieval does not consume credits
* ✓Open-source engine (Graphiti) underneath
* ✗Paid tiers start at $125/month
* ✗SOC 2 and HIPAA only on Enterprise
* ✗Community Edition deprecated; self-host means Graphiti

## Key Features Compared

### Cognee

* ✓$5 per extra workspace / month
* ✓Slack, Notion, Linear, Drive sources
* ✓Code indexing

### Zep

* ✓50K credits / month
* ✓$25 per extra 10K credits
* ✓600 requests / min

### Choose Cognee if…

* ✓You want a free tier to validate before paying.
* ✓Budget is tight — paid plans start lower ($1/mo vs $125/mo).
* ✓Graph memory with evidence for every answer
* ✓Runs locally without an LLM key

[Cognee review & pricing ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/cognee)

### Choose Zep if…

* ✓You want a free tier to validate before paying.
* ✓Temporal graph: knows when facts changed
* ✓Retrieval does not consume credits
* ✓Open-source engine (Graphiti) underneath

[Zep review & pricing ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/zep)

## Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cognee better than Zep?⌄

Both are solid ai agent memory options. Cognee is cheaper to start, but the right choice depends on the specific features and integrations you need.

What is the difference between Cognee and Zep?⌄

Cognee — Open-source (Apache-2.0) knowledge-graph memory for agents: turns documents, code and conversations into a graph you can query. Runs locally without an LLM key. Zep — Managed context-graph memory for agents, built on the open-source Graphiti engine: tracks how facts change over time. SOC 2 Type II on Enterprise. Both are ai agent memory tools; the comparison table above breaks down pricing, free tiers, and what each is best for.

Cognee vs Zep: which is cheaper?⌄

Cognee pricing: Free · paid from $1/mo. Zep pricing: Free · paid from $125/mo. Confirm current pricing on each tool's official site, as plans change.

Which is rated higher, Cognee or Zep?⌄

In our catalog, Cognee rates 4.4 out of 5 and Zep rates 4.5 out of 5, so Zep has a slight edge on reviews.

See more options in our guide to the [best ai agent memory tools for startups](https://appstackbuilder.com/categories/agent-memory).

[In-depth guideBest AI Agent Memory 2026: Mem0 vs Zep vs Cognee vs SupermemoryYour agent forgets everything when the chat ends. Two open-source memory layers and two managed services compared on how they store memory, what they cost for 1,000 users, and why every vendor claims the top benchmark score.](https://appstackbuilder.com/blog/best-ai-agent-memory-2026)

## Still not sure which to pick?

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[Build my stack free ](https://appstackbuilder.com/build-stack)