Both give your agents persistent memory across sessions. The architecture, ownership model, and pricing are completely different. Here's the honest breakdown.
VEKTOR stores memory in a local SQLite database as a 4-layer associative graph. Every remember() call runs through AUDN — an autonomous curation layer that decides whether to ADD a new node, UPDATE an existing one, DELETE a contradiction, or do nothing. The graph self-organises via Zettelkasten-style edges typed as SUPPORTS, EXTENDS, CONTRASTS, or PREREQUISITE.
A background REM cycle (7 phases) compresses raw memory fragments into distilled insights while your agent is idle — 50 fragments become 3 core signals. Nothing blocks the agent.
All of this runs locally. No cloud call, no API roundtrip for memory. Recall averages 8ms.
Zep's Graphiti engine is purpose-built for temporal reasoning. Every stored fact is a knowledge graph node with a validity window — "User prefers Python (as of March 2026)" is stored with a time bound, not just a string. When facts change, old nodes are closed out and new ones opened.
This makes Zep particularly strong for agents that need to reason about how things changed over time — a gap where most memory layers fall short, including basic vector stores.
The cloud tier handles embedding and retrieval on Zep's infrastructure. Self-hosting is available but scoped to enterprise plans.
VEKTOR is $9/month flat — one price regardless of how many queries your agent makes, how many memories it stores, or which LLM provider you use. There are no per-query fees, no embedding bills, no egress charges. The SDK uses whatever LLM API key you already have configured.
Zep is usage-based on the cloud tier. The free tier covers low-volume experimentation, but production workloads — agents that query memory hundreds of times per session — accumulate costs that scale with usage. Enterprise self-hosting requires a contract.
For teams running multiple agents or high-volume workflows, VEKTOR's flat pricing model is significantly more predictable.
VEKTOR ships a native MCP server. Adding it to Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, or VS Code is a one-line config change. The MCP tools — vektor_recall, vektor_store, vektor_graph, vektor_delta — are available immediately with no additional setup.
Zep does not currently ship a first-party MCP server. Integration into MCP-native environments requires a custom wrapper or HTTP bridge. For teams building on Claude Desktop or Cursor specifically, this is a meaningful friction difference.
These are two well-built tools solving the same problem from different angles. Zep's Graphiti engine leads on temporal reasoning — if your agent needs to track how facts change over time, it's the most architecturally capable option in the market. VEKTOR leads on everything else that matters for Node.js / MCP-native / privacy-first / cost-predictable workloads: local-first, 8ms recall, flat pricing, native MCP, and the only background compression system in the category.
If you're unsure, the install is 2 minutes and the first month is $9.
Local-first. 8ms recall. MCP-native. $9/month flat.