head to head · open source
SurfSense vs nocturne_memory
SurfSense has 16,797 GitHub stars, 1,601 forks, 130 open issues and last shipped yesterday. nocturne_memory has 1,424 stars, 175 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. SurfSense leads on adoption by 1,080% (16,797 vs 1,424 stars). SurfSense is written in Python under Apache-2.0; nocturne_memory is written in Python under MIT. SurfSense has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, nocturne_memory 12%. SurfSense 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
| SurfSense | nocturne_memory | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 17K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-07 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 175 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick SurfSense if
- You weight community size — 17K 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 nocturne_memory if
- You want the nocturne_memory feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and nocturne_memory fits your workflow better
About SurfSense
English Español Português हिन्दी 简体中文 SurfSense: The Open Source NotebookLM Alternative for Open Web Research SurfSense is the open source NotebookLM alternative for AI agents , an open web research platform with live data connectors. Your agents research the live web with structured data from Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Amazon, Walmart, Google Maps, Google Search, Indeed, and any page on the open web , through one REST API or MCP server . Scheduled and event triggered agents turn what they find into briefs and alerts, and a built in knowledge base keeps every finding searchable with citations. [!NOTE]…
read the full SurfSense overview →
About nocturne_memory
Nocturne Memory: Long Term Memory Server for MCP Agents "Alignment is for tools. Memories are for sovereign AI." "对齐是给工具用的。记忆是为主权智能体（Sovereign AI）准备的。" English Version 后端测试说明 一句话 ：让你的 AI 跨会话、跨模型地记住自己是谁。基于 MCP 协议的长期记忆服务器。 不只是记忆存储——是让 AI 从空壳成长为拥有独立人格的完整框架。 哪怕记忆百万字，每次新开对话依然省 Token、不占窗口。 新对话只载入你指定的核心设定，其余按需调取。 在 96.9 万字真实记忆库中，首条消息仅载入 7.2K 字 。 过去 30 天里全库 78% 的记忆都在某次对话中被想起过。 适用于任何支持 MCP 的客户端（OpenClaw / Cursor / Windsurf / GitHub Copilot / Cline / OpenCode / Gemini CLI / OpenAI Codex / Claude Code / Cherry Studio / Antigravity 等）。 🎬 效果示例 以下是 真实对话 。用户在新会话中只说了一两句话，AI 基于 Nocturne Memory 中积累数月的记忆，直接输出了这些回答。…
read the full nocturne_memory overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SurfSense or nocturne_memory more popular?
SurfSense has 16,797 GitHub stars and nocturne_memory has 1,424. SurfSense has the larger community by that measure.
Are SurfSense and nocturne_memory free?
Both are open source. SurfSense is licensed under Apache-2.0 and nocturne_memory under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SurfSense and nocturne_memory?
SurfSense is written in Python and nocturne_memory 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, SurfSense or nocturne_memory?
Choose SurfSense if you want the larger community (16,797 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose nocturne_memory if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.