head to head · open source
llama.cpp vs mcp-memory-service
llama.cpp has 133,181 GitHub stars, 25,063 forks, 2,464 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mcp-memory-service has 2,062 stars, 383 forks, 30 open issues and last shipped yesterday. llama.cpp leads on adoption by 6,359% (133,181 vs 2,062 stars). llama.cpp is written in C++ under MIT; mcp-memory-service is written in Python under Apache-2.0. llama.cpp has attracted 19% as many forks as stars, mcp-memory-service 19%. llama.cpp 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| llama.cpp | mcp-memory-service | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 133K | ★ 2.1K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 25K | ⑂ 383 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick llama.cpp if
- You weight community size — 133K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick mcp-memory-service if
- You want the mcp-memory-service feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and mcp-memory-service fits your workflow better
About llama.cpp
llama.cpp LLM inference in C/C++ ggml / ops / maintainer PRs%20sort%3Aupdated desc) / dev stats / lib llama API / llama server REST API Quick start A few options to get llama.cpp installed on your machine: Visit and follow the instructions Run with Docker see our Docker documentation Download pre built binaries from the releases page Build from source by cloning this repository check out our build guide Once installed: VLM session with llama cli Built in web UI against llama serve Description The main goal of llama.cpp is to enable LLM (and VLM) inference with minimal setup and state of the art performance on a…
read the full llama.cpp overview →
About mcp-memory-service
This repository has moved to GitHub Active development, issues, pull requests, CI and releases are at as of 5 September 2026. This copy stays here, readable and unchanged, so that existing links, issue numbers and pull request references keep resolving. It receives no further pushes and its CI no longer runs. Please do not open issues or pull requests here, they will not be seen. The wiki moved too: mcp memory service Persistent Shared Memory for AI Agent Pipelines Open source memory backend for AI agents — REST API, MCP, OAuth, CLI, dashboard . One self hosted service, every transport. Agents store decisions…
read the full mcp-memory-service overview →
More in AI & Machine Learning
Related comparisons
More Machine Learning Infrastructure projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Machine Learning Infrastructure field.
Frequently asked questions
Is llama.cpp or mcp-memory-service more popular?
llama.cpp has 133,181 GitHub stars and mcp-memory-service has 2,062. llama.cpp has the larger community by that measure.
Are llama.cpp and mcp-memory-service free?
Both are open source. llama.cpp is licensed under MIT and mcp-memory-service under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between llama.cpp and mcp-memory-service?
llama.cpp is written in C++ and mcp-memory-service 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, llama.cpp or mcp-memory-service?
Choose llama.cpp if you want the larger community (133,181 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose mcp-memory-service if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.