compare

honeycomb and zep

How does honeycomb compare to zep? zep is enterprise agent memory, built on its open-source Graphiti temporal knowledge graph, and it connects to Cursor and Claude over MCP. Close, and the difference is that honeycomb is purpose-built for coding memory on a store you own, not a general graph you assemble. A different answer to a nearby question.

Download How honeycomb compares

What zep and Graphiti are

zep is agent memory at enterprise scale, offered as a managed service. Underneath it is Graphiti, zep's open-source framework for temporal knowledge graphs. Graphiti turns conversations and data into a graph of entities and relationships with a timeline, invalidating old facts as they change, and combines vector, full-text, and graph retrieval in one call. It runs on graph databases like Neo4j, FalkorDB, or Neptune, and ships an MCP server that connects to Cursor and Claude. It is a strong, well-regarded design, and we credit it plainly.

Where honeycomb is different

honeycomb

built for: + coding agents sessions, skills, codebase
the model: + three-tier memory plus a codebase graph
storage: + one store you own deeplake, your cloud
how you start: + one command no account
connects to coding assistants: + yes underneath, via hooks and mcp
open source: + yes agpl-3.0

zep / graphiti

built for: ~ general agent memory
the model: ~ a temporal knowledge graph
storage: ~ a graph database neo4j, falkordb, neptune
how you start: ~ managed or self-host run a graph db
connects to coding assistants: + yes graphiti mcp server
open source: + graphiti permissive

	honeycomb	zep / graphiti
built for	yes. coding agents sessions, skills, codebase	partial. general agent memory
the model	yes. three-tier memory plus a codebase graph	partial. a temporal knowledge graph
storage	honeycomb advantage. one store you own deeplake, your cloud	partial. a graph database neo4j, falkordb, neptune
how you start	yes. one command no account	partial. managed or self-host run a graph db
connects to coding assistants	yes. yes underneath, via hooks and mcp	yes. yes graphiti mcp server
open source	yes. yes agpl-3.0	yes. graphiti permissive

Capability comparison, not a benchmark. zep and Graphiti facts from their public materials, captured 2026-07.

A codebase memory, not a general graph.

Graphiti is a powerful, general temporal knowledge graph you can point at any domain. honeycomb is narrower on purpose: it remembers your coding sessions as a three-tier memory, pairs them with a codebase graph from nectar, and serves it back to the assistants you already use, all from one store you own. If you want a general agent-memory graph, Graphiti and zep are a strong pick. If you want coding memory that works out of the box, that is honeycomb.

See how honeycomb works

recall "refresh token rotation"

auth/refresh-token.ts:42 ✓ verified

rotate the refresh token on every use; the old one is revoked server side.

auth/refresh-token.ts:42 personal 0.94

session:2f9c-deploy-staging

staging deploys run from the release branch, never from a feature branch.

session:2f9c-deploy-staging personal 0.89

db/migrations/notes.md:7 ✓ verified

add the column nullable first, backfill, then set not null in a later migration.

db/migrations/notes.md:7 personal 0.82

Common questions

What is zep, and what is Graphiti?

zep is managed agent memory at enterprise scale. Graphiti is zep's open-source temporal knowledge graph framework, self-hostable on Neo4j, FalkorDB, or Neptune, with hybrid retrieval and an MCP server for Cursor and Claude.

How is honeycomb different from zep?

honeycomb is built for coding agents: a three-tier memory of your sessions plus a codebase graph, in one store you own on Deeplake, installed in one command. zep and Graphiti build a general temporal knowledge graph.

Is Graphiti open source and self-hostable?

Yes, and we credit that. It is open source and self-hostable on your own graph database, and connects to coding assistants over MCP. honeycomb keeps the same ownership with one store on Deeplake and a one-command install.

Coding memory, out of the box.

honeycomb remembers your sessions and your codebase on a store you own. Install it in one command.

Windows (PowerShell): irm https://get.theapiary.sh/install.ps1 | iex

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