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First, fairly
What is Basic Memory?
Basic Memory is a notes-structured knowledge base. The local, open-source version is a developer tool built on plain Markdown files with MCP; the cloud version ($15 a seat a month) adds a web app and increasingly aims at teams, agencies, and MSPs. It can import your chat history too.
Best for developers and teams who want a structured, notes-based knowledge base they own.
The record
Where Basic Memory went.
It's a genuinely good tool that rewards people who enjoy maintaining a knowledge base. If you'd rather your memory maintain itself while you work, you're the person MemoryPlugin was built for.
Two different lanes
Which one is built for you?
Basic Memory: built for technical users and teams
Markdown files you own, MCP servers you configure, self-hosted or team cloud. Powerful, if that sounds like a good weekend.
Their own site: “One knowledge base for you, your AI tools, and your team.”
MemoryPlugin: built for people
No files, no setup project. Install, sign in, and memory shows up inside the AI tools you already use. Core is $89 a year.
Works in the web apps MCP alone can't reach: chatgpt.com, gemini.google.com, and more.
Start Your Free 7-Day TrialHow it compares
Basic Memory vs MemoryPlugin
A quick, honest look at where each one fits.
| Feature | Basic Memory | MemoryPlugin |
|---|---|---|
| How it's structured | Notes you organize | Automatic Memories, chat history & files in one place |
| Made for | Developers (local), teams (cloud) | People |
| Price | Free self-hosted; Cloud $15 a seat a month | Core $89 a year Nothing to host |
| Setup | Local install, MCP config per tool | Extension + one sign-in |
| Works across your AI tools | MCP clients | 21+ sites + MCP Via the browser extension |
| Upkeep | You maintain notes | None, it's automatic |
How it's structured
Made for
Price
Setup
Works across your AI tools
Upkeep
The short version
Which should you choose?
Choose Basic Memory if
- You want a structured, notes-based knowledge base you own
- You're a developer (local) or a team (cloud)
- You're happy organizing and maintaining Markdown
Choose MemoryPlugin if
- You want memory in every AI app with zero upkeep
- You want it across 21+ tools, including the web apps MCP can't reach
- You want the memory lifecycle handled for you, suggestions and all
Why MemoryPlugin
Memory that follows you.
One memory, every tool
The same memory works across 21+ AI tools, from ChatGPT and Claude to Gemini and Cursor. Recall follows you everywhere.
Memories, chat history & files together
One knowledge base holds it all: the facts it remembers, your full chat history, and your uploaded files.
Search your chats from the browser
Chat-history search is built into the extension, so past conversations are a keystroke away inside any tool.
Stays clean on its own
It detects conflicting memories and merges related ones, so your memory sharpens over time instead of contradicting itself.
Token-efficient recall
Smart Memory summarizes and categorizes, cutting up to 90% of the tokens a raw context dump would burn.
No upkeep
Memory shows up automatically inside each tool's own interface. No second app to visit, no notes to maintain.
3,800+
Users
4.5★
From 100+ reviews
21+
AI tools
May 2024
Shipping since
“Pays for itself if it saves you even 30 minutes a month.”
AI Directories
Switching is not a project
Set up in three steps.
01
Install and sign in
Add the browser extension (or the MCP URL for desktop tools) and sign in once. About 30 seconds.
02
Import your history
Bring in your ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini conversations in a few clicks. It keeps syncing on its own.
03
Open any AI
It already knows you. Add a memory in one tool and every other tool has it from your next conversation.
Your first week is free · Export everything, anytime
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Do I need to be a developer to use MemoryPlugin?
No. Install the extension or add the MCP URL, sign in once, and it works. There are no Markdown files or notes to maintain.
Does Basic Memory import chat history?
Yes, Basic Memory can bring chat history in too. The difference is effort and coverage: MemoryPlugin imports from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, TypingMind, Grok, and DeepSeek in a few clicks and keeps syncing on its own, no scripts.
Which is better for a non-developer?
MemoryPlugin, and that's by design. Basic Memory's own docs assume Markdown, MCP configuration, and a local install; its cloud is pitched at teams and agencies. MemoryPlugin is a browser extension and a sign-in.
Where does MemoryPlugin work?
Natively across 21+ AI platforms plus any MCP client, so the same memory and chat history show up in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Cursor, and more.