--- title: "letta vs cognee" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/letta-ai-letta-vs-topoteretes-cognee" tools: ["letta-ai-letta", "topoteretes-cognee"] --- # letta vs cognee *GraphCanon updated Aug 19, 2026* ## Verdict Pick letta if letta is a Python-based platform designed to foster the development of stateful AI agents with capabilities for advanced memory techniques that support continuous learning and self-improvement. The Apache-2.0 license it鳧; pick cognee if when evaluating Cognee, consider its self-hosted persistence capability and the extensive support it offers through multiple programming languages (Python, Rust, TypeScript). It uses vector. [letta](https://docs.letta.com/) reports 24k GitHub stars, 2.6k forks, and 41 open issues, last pushed Aug 16, 2026. [cognee](https://www.cognee.ai) has 30k stars, 2.9k forks, and 359 open issues, last pushed Aug 19, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [letta's repository](https://github.com/letta-ai/letta) and [cognee's repository](https://github.com/topoteretes/cognee). | | [letta](/tools/letta-ai-letta.md) | [cognee](/tools/topoteretes-cognee.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Platform for stateful agents: AI with advanced memory that can learn and self-improve over time. | Cognee is the open-source AI memory platform for agents. | | Stars | 24,274 | 30,121 | | Forks | 2,582 | 2,937 | | Open issues | 41 | 359 | | Language | - | Python | | Adopt for | letta is a Python-based platform designed to foster the development of stateful AI agents with capabilities for advanced memory techniques that support continuous learning and self-improvement. The Apache-2.0 license it鳧 | When evaluating Cognee, consider its self-hosted persistence capability and the extensive support it offers through multiple programming languages (Python, Rust, TypeScript). It uses vector databases to provide efficient | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | letta operates under the Apache-2.0 license. | Apache-2.0 | | Categories | AI Agents | AI Agents, Vector Databases | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [letta](/tools/letta-ai-letta.md) | [cognee](/tools/topoteretes-cognee.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Open issues (now) | 41 | 359 | | Stars delta | +443 (30d) | +1.5k (30d) | | Open issues delta | -8 (30d) | -265 (30d) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/letta-ai-letta/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/topoteretes-cognee/trust.md) | ## Shared compatibility - **Node.js**: [letta](/tools/letta-ai-letta.md) - Node.js runtime; [cognee](/tools/topoteretes-cognee.md) - Node.js runtime ## Decision facts: letta - **Adopt for:** letta is a Python-based platform designed to foster the development of stateful AI agents with capabilities for advanced memory techniques that support continuous learning and self-improvement. The Apache-2.0 license it鳧 - **License detail:** letta operates under the Apache-2.0 license. ## Decision facts: cognee - **Adopt for:** When evaluating Cognee, consider its self-hosted persistence capability and the extensive support it offers through multiple programming languages (Python, Rust, TypeScript). It uses vector databases to provide efficient ## Choose when ### Choose letta if… - Tags unique to letta: advanced memory, agents development framework, self-improving ai, stateful ai. - When you require an AI agent with robust memory features that enable continuous learning and adaptation over time. - Leaner open-issue backlog (41). ### Choose cognee if… - Tags unique to cognee: agent-memory, ai-agents, docker, knowledge-graph. - Also covers Vector Databases. - cognee ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - - You are developing AI agents that require persistent long-term memory across different sessions. ## When NOT to use letta - If you are looking for a simple stateless AI solution without advanced memory capabilities, as letta is geared towards more complex stateful agent development. - When your project's requirements involve strict limitations around data retention and privacy where even anonymized interaction logs might be considered sensitive. ## When NOT to use cognee - - Your project does not require persistent memory storage, or your agents operate fully within short-lived sessions without the need for past context. - - You are aiming for minimal setup overhead and prefer a cloud-based solution that requires less maintenance on your infrastructure side. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between letta and cognee? letta: Platform for stateful agents: AI with advanced memory that can learn and self-improve over time.. cognee: Cognee is the open-source AI memory platform for agents.. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose letta over cognee? Choose letta over cognee when Tags unique to letta: advanced memory, agents development framework, self-improving ai, stateful ai; When you require an AI agent with robust memory features that enable continuous learning and adaptation over time; Leaner open-issue backlog (41). ### When should I choose cognee over letta? Choose cognee over letta when Tags unique to cognee: agent-memory, ai-agents, docker, knowledge-graph; Also covers Vector Databases; cognee ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; - You are developing AI agents that require persistent long-term memory across different sessions. ### When should I avoid letta? If you are looking for a simple stateless AI solution without advanced memory capabilities, as letta is geared towards more complex stateful agent development. When your project's requirements involve strict limitations around data retention and privacy where even anonymized interaction logs might be considered sensitive. ### When should I avoid cognee? - Your project does not require persistent memory storage, or your agents operate fully within short-lived sessions without the need for past context. - You are aiming for minimal setup overhead and prefer a cloud-based solution that requires less maintenance on your infrastructure side. ### Is letta or cognee more popular on GitHub? cognee has more GitHub stars (30,121 vs 24,274). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are letta and cognee open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (letta: Apache-2.0, cognee: Apache-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to letta or cognee? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [letta alternatives](/tools/letta-ai-letta/alternatives) and [cognee alternatives](/tools/topoteretes-cognee/alternatives) ([letta markdown twin](/tools/letta-ai-letta/alternatives.md), [cognee markdown twin](/tools/topoteretes-cognee/alternatives.md)), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes. ### Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison? Yes. The markdown twin at [this comparison](/compare/letta-ai-letta-vs-topoteretes-cognee.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, letta or cognee? letta: Very active. cognee: Very active. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance. ### Where are the full trust reports for letta and cognee? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [letta trust report](/tools/letta-ai-letta/trust); [cognee trust report](/tools/topoteretes-cognee/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=letta-ai-letta`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=letta-ai-letta) - LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt) - Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt) _GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_