head to head · open source
cognee vs VectorDBBench
cognee has 33,036 GitHub stars, 3,456 forks, 495 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. VectorDBBench has 1,200 stars, 451 forks, 184 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. cognee leads on adoption by 2,653% (33,036 vs 1,200 stars). cognee is written in Python under Apache-2.0; VectorDBBench is written in Python under MIT. cognee has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, VectorDBBench 38%. cognee was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| cognee | VectorDBBench | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 33K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-10-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.5K | ⑂ 451 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick cognee if
- You weight community size — 33K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick VectorDBBench if
- You want the VectorDBBench feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and VectorDBBench fits your workflow better
About cognee
Cognee The Open Source AI Memory Platform for Agents Demo . Docs . Learn More · Join Discord · Join r/AIMemory . Community Plugins & Add ons Cognee is the open source AI memory platform that gives AI agents persistent long term memory across sessions. Ingest data in any format, build a self hosted knowledge graph, and let every agent recall, connect, and act with full context 🌐 This README is also available in: Deutsch Español Français 日本語 한국어 Português Русский 中文 📄 Read the research paper: Optimizing the Interface Between Knowledge Graphs and LLMs for Complex Reasoning — Markovic et al., 2025 When to use…
read the full cognee overview →
About VectorDBBench
VectorDBBench(VDBBench): A Benchmark Tool for VectorDB What is VDBBench VDBBench is not just an offering of benchmark results for mainstream vector databases and cloud services, it's your go to tool for the ultimate performance and cost effectiveness comparison. Designed with ease of use in mind, VDBBench is devised to help users, even non professionals, reproduce results or test new systems, making the hunt for the optimal choice amongst a plethora of cloud services and open source vector databases a breeze. Understanding the importance of user experience, we provide an intuitive visual interface. This not only…
read the full VectorDBBench overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is cognee or VectorDBBench more popular?
cognee has 33,036 GitHub stars and VectorDBBench has 1,200. cognee has the larger community by that measure.
Are cognee and VectorDBBench free?
Both are open source. cognee is licensed under Apache-2.0 and VectorDBBench under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between cognee and VectorDBBench?
cognee is written in Python and VectorDBBench in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, cognee or VectorDBBench?
Choose cognee if you want the larger community (33,036 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose VectorDBBench if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.