The official MCP memory server is a simple, local knowledge-graph memory for one machine. OwlMem is a hosted MCP memory server for a whole team.
Facts checked against each vendor's public docs and pricing pages on October 25, 2026. Features and prices change; if we got something wrong, email [email protected] and we'll fix it.
| Feature | OwlMem | MCP Memory Server |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Hosted service for teams: knowledge base, memory and vault | Reference MCP server that runs locally |
| MCP | Yes: Hosted MCP server with OAuth sign-in | Yes: It is an MCP server (stdio) |
| Shared across AI apps | Yes: Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex, Gemini, any MCP client | Partly: Apps on one machine can share one file |
| Team sharing | Yes: Organizations, members, one identity per AI | No: No built-in users or permissions |
| How data is stored | Markdown in git, plus facts recalled by meaning | Knowledge graph in a local JSONL file |
| Audit and rollback | Yes: Every write is a git commit: diff, revert, export | Build it yourself: None built in; version the file yourself |
| Self-host / open source | No: No, managed only (servers in Canada); CLI is MIT | Yes: Local only, MIT |
| Secrets vault for agents | Yes: End-to-end encrypted vault, approval per use | Not published: Not described in their docs |
| Extracts memories automatically | No: No, agents save lessons and facts on purpose | No: No, the model calls tools when prompted |
| Starting price | Free for 1 AI agent; from $19/month | Free |
@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory) runs on your machine and stores entities, relations and observations in a local JSONL file. OwlMem runs as a service at one URL with OAuth sign-in.Choose MCP Memory Server if you are one person trying agent memory locally, or you want a minimal reference to learn from — it's free and keeps everything in one readable file.
Choose OwlMem if several people or machines need the same memory, with sign-in, one identity per AI, history you can roll back and a team plan.
The reference server is a great way to learn how MCP memory works. When you outgrow one machine, connect OwlMem with npx -y owlmem install and ask your agent to move what is worth keeping: read the graph with read_graph and save it to OwlMem with kb_write or kb_retain.
In a local JSONL file (memory.jsonl by default, set with MEMORY_FILE_PATH), as a knowledge graph of entities, relations and observations.
On one machine, yes: several server processes can share the same file safely. Across machines or people it has no sync or sign-in. OwlMem is reachable from anywhere over HTTPS, with OAuth sign-in.
Yes, several. OwlMem is one: add https://mcp.owlmem.com/mcp as a remote MCP server or custom connector, sign in and click Allow. Mem0, Supermemory and Zep also run hosted MCP servers for their own memory.
Official pages we checked on October 25, 2026:
Free for one AI, forever. Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Codex in a minute.