MemoryFirst vs code memory plugins
claude-mem is an open-source memory layer (Apache-2.0 license, close to 88,000 GitHub stars as of July 2026) that installs with one command and runs locally: it remembers your Claude Code session context across restarts, with no server of its own. On July 21, 2026, Mem0 shipped its official Claude Code plugin, with lifecycle hooks that auto-capture decisions and preferences from every session. Both solve the same concrete problem: keeping Claude Code from starting from zero every time you open the editor.
That problem is already a commodity, and free. We’re not going to pretend otherwise: if all you need is for your coding assistant to remember your style and your technical decisions, claude-mem does that well and costs nothing. The question worth asking is a different one: does your AI remember anything about the business, or only about the code?
| claude-mem / Mem0 plugin | MemoryFirst | |
|---|---|---|
| What it remembers | Code style preferences, technical decisions and patterns from one Claude Code session to the next. | Business decisions, clients, deadlines and blockers, captured from your Claude Code sessions too (plus email, chat and documents). |
| Delivery format | Context injected automatically at the start of the next Claude Code session, via lifecycle hooks. | Same, over MCP, plus a morning brief by Telegram or email and cited answers on demand from any MCP client, not just Claude Code. |
| Temporal graph | No, in claude-mem (flat, local memory). Mem0's plugin inherits Mem0's model: graph memory gated to its 249 $/month Pro plan (see the Mem0 comparison). | Yes, included from the entry plan: temporal graph with contradictions resolved. |
| Verifiable citations | No citation to the source fragment shows up in their answers. | Every answer cites the exact fragment and source. |
| Data residency | claude-mem runs on your own machine, locally (not applicable). Mem0's plugin runs on Mem0's infrastructure. | European Union, with region selection. |
| Price | claude-mem: $0 (open source, Apache-2.0 license). Mem0's plugin: free to install, runs on your Mem0 account (free / $19 / $249). | Free for 1 project. Founder: €19/month, with the graph included. |
| Who it's for | Developers who want Claude Code to remember how they code. | Founders and teams who want their AI to remember how the business is doing. |
claude-mem’s GitHub stars and license, and the launch date of Mem0’s Claude Code plugin, verified as of July 2026.
Not the same category, and we’ll say so even when it doesn’t help us
claude-mem and Mem0’s plugin memorize your code: how you write it, what you decided technically, what you preferred last time. MemoryFirst memorizes your business: what you promised a client, when a contract expires, what blocked the last deploy. Different layers, different audiences, different jobs.
The honest conclusion: you can use both at once. claude-mem or Mem0’s plugin so Claude Code remembers your code; MemoryFirst, connected over the same MCP protocol, so your business has its own memory. They don’t compete for the same budget or the same job.
Choose them if...
all you care about is Claude Code remembering your coding style and technical decisions across sessions, you don’t need your AI to remember anything about the business (clients, deadlines, contracts), and you prefer a local, free tool. With close to 88,000 GitHub stars and a one-command install (as of July 2026), claude-mem is hard to beat at that specific job.
If you want to understand why business memory needs more than a free plugin, read what a company brain is. And if you already know you want one, see what it costs: the Founder plan starts at €19/month, graph included.
Connect both memory layers in 2 minutes
MemoryFirst connects over MCP just like claude-mem: no friction, alongside what you already use. Free to start, data hosted in the EU.
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