Alternatives to Cobrain, and when to pick them.
There are other ways to give your AIs a memory, and for you some of them are better. For each one: what it is, where it stops and when it is the right choice.
ChatGPT memory
ChatGPT's built-in memory: saved memories and references to past chats.
Where it stops. It lives inside ChatGPT. Claude, Cursor or a colleague cannot see it, and you cannot read or edit it in full like a document.
Pick it if you only use ChatGPT, on your own, and you just need it to remember your preferences.
Claude memory and Projects
Claude's memory across chats, and Projects with their files and instructions.
Where it stops. It stays inside Claude. A project cannot be opened from ChatGPT or Cursor, and the files must be re-uploaded by hand when they change.
Pick it if you only work with Claude and your material rarely changes.
Obsidian + MCP
A Markdown editor on your computer, with a plugin that adds a local MCP server.
Where it stops. The AI reaches it only from that computer, while it is on. Claude on the phone or ChatGPT on the web cannot get there, and you cannot give a colleague one folder only.
Pick it if you work alone, always from the same machine, and want the notes only on your disk.
Notion
A complete workspace, with documents, databases and an AI of its own.
Where it stops. Pages are Notion blocks, not Markdown files, and the included AI is theirs. To let your own AIs use them you need their connector.
Pick it if the whole team already lives in Notion and you are happy to use the AI it comes with.
Hjarni
A hosted Markdown memory, with an MCP server, mobile apps and notes by email. It is the closest to Cobrain.
Where it stops. The free plan stops at 25 notes; a folder is shared with a public link or, on Pro, with two collaborators; a team costs €18 per person.
Pick it if you want a native phone app and to send notes by email.
Basic Memory
Markdown notes with an MCP server, open source. It runs free on your computer; there is also a cloud version, from $15 per seat a month.
Where it stops. The free version is local, so it has the same limits as Obsidian; the cloud one is paid from day one.
Pick it if you are a developer, you want open code and you are fine installing it.
Mem0 and Supermemory
Memory APIs for people building agents: the agent's code stores and retrieves facts, with vector search.
Where it stops. The memories are read by a machine, not a person. It is not a place where you and your AIs write notes.
Pick it if you are building your own agent and need a memory to put in the code.
Where Cobrain sits
The case it is made for.
Cobrain is for when notes have to be yours (Markdown you read and edit), reachable by all your AIs (from every screen, not one computer) and shareable folder by folder with the people you work with. If you need only one of those three, one of the alternatives above is probably enough.
Start with a single note.
It is free and no card is needed. You sign in with a link sent by email, connect your AI and start building a memory that does not stay locked inside a chat.
