Comparison

Kognite vs Zep: the same idea, a different floor.

Q: Does Kognite really include the temporal graph on the free plan?

Yes — the graph schema is bi-temporal (event time and belief time on every edge) and identical across all plans. Plans differ by monthly memory-creation quota, not capability.

Q: Can I migrate from Zep to Kognite?

Yes — export your data from Zep and write memories through Kognite's REST API or SDKs. The graph rebuilds itself as memories are ingested; you don't migrate edges by hand.

Q: How do credits compare to memories?

They're different units. Zep's credits are drawn by operations against the service; Kognite meters only memory creation — searching and reading are free on every plan, so proactive recall costs nothing.

Zep and Kognite agree on the thesis: agent memory should be a temporal knowledge graph, not a pile of embeddings. The disagreement is who gets one. Zep's context graph starts on the $125/mo Flex tier; Kognite ships its bi-temporal graph on every plan, including free.

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At a glance

The comparison, feature by feature

Feature	KKognite	Zep
Temporal knowledge graph	Every plan, from free	Paid tiers ($125/mo+)
Entry paid tier	$19/mo (Builder)	$125/mo (Flex)
Free tier	5,000 new memories/mo, resets monthly	10,000 credits/mo, no rollover
Search / retrieval cost	Never metered	Credit-based usage
Billing	Month-to-month, every plan	Monthly or annual (−17%)
MCP setup	One URL, no install	One URL (Memory MCP; seat-limited on free)
Agent Skills	Yes	No
Webhooks / analytics	No	Flex Plus ($375/mo) and up
Open-source self-host	No	Graphiti (the graph engine) is OSS

Zep prices and tiering from getzep.com/pricing, re-checked 31 August 2026 (Flex $125/mo, Flex Plus $375/mo, monthly billing available, annual −17%).

The floor

$19 vs $125 for the core capability

Zep's free tier is a demo budget: 10,000 credits that don't roll over, two projects, one Memory MCP seat. The first sustainable tier is Flex at $125/mo. If temporal graph memory is the feature you came for, that's the price of running it daily.

Kognite's graph — entities, relationships, edges carrying both event time and belief time — is the same schema on every plan. The free tier's 5,000 new memories reset monthly, searches are never metered, and the first paid tier is $19. The capability isn't the upsell; capacity is.

Fair is fair

When Zep is the better fit

✓You want to self-host the graph engine. Graphiti, Zep's temporal-graph framework, is open source and well regarded. Kognite is managed-only.
✓You need webhooks, analytics, or custom extraction instructions. Zep ships those on Flex Plus and Enterprise; Kognite doesn't offer them today.
✓Enterprise procurement wants an enterprise vendor. Zep's enterprise motion (custom contracts, dedicated support tiers) is more built out.

Shared ground

What both get right

Worth saying plainly: Zep's core bet — that agent memory needs time-aware structure, because facts change and an agent must know when something was true — is one we share. Both products model validity intervals on graph edges; both treat “what did we believe in March” as a first-class query. If you're choosing between these two, you've already made the right architectural call. The remaining question is what it costs to run, which the table above answers.

FAQ

Common questions

Does Kognite really include the temporal graph on the free plan?

Yes — the schema is bi-temporal on every plan. Plans differ by monthly creation quota, not capability.

Can I migrate from Zep to Kognite?

Yes — export from Zep and write through the REST API or SDKs. The graph rebuilds as memories are ingested; you don't migrate edges by hand.

How do credits compare to memories?

Different units: Zep's credits are drawn by operations; Kognite meters only memory creation — reads are free on every plan, so proactive recall costs nothing.

A temporal graph you don't have to budget for.

Free tier: the full graph plus 5,000 new memories a month, searches unmetered. Paid starts at $19.

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