head to head · open source
SurfSense vs nocturne_memory
SurfSense has 16,236 GitHub stars, 1,546 forks, 130 open issues and last shipped today. nocturne_memory has 1,371 stars, 170 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SurfSense leads on adoption by 1,084% (16,236 vs 1,371 stars). SurfSense is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; 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 | ★ 16K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-23 | 2026-09-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 170 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick SurfSense if
- You weight community size — 16K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other 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
SurfSense is an open source NotebookLM alternative and privacy first knowledge base that can work with any AI model chosen by the user. It is a Python productivity and knowledge management project in the agent, RAG, LangChain, LangGraph, FastAPI, Next.js, and Ollama ecosystem. The project presents itself as an open web research platform for AI agents, with live data connectors and a built in knowledge base that keeps findings searchable with citations.
read the full SurfSense overview →
About nocturne_memory
Nocturne Memory is an MIT licensed, Python based Long Term Memory Server that speaks the Model Context Protocol, giving MCP capable agents persistent, structured, rollbackable memory across sessions, models and tools — built for anyone running Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Codex or another MCP client who is tired of an agent that forgets who it is.
read the full nocturne_memory overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SurfSense or nocturne_memory more popular?
SurfSense has 16,236 GitHub stars and nocturne_memory has 1,371. SurfSense has the larger community by that measure.
Are SurfSense and nocturne_memory free?
Both are open source. SurfSense has no licence declared in this registry, and nocturne_memory is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
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 (16,236 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose nocturne_memory if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.