# Cognee vs daytona
_Agent Infrastructure · independent comparison_

> Cognee and daytona are both open-source agent infrastructure you can self-host for free. daytona has wider GitHub adoption — 72k stars vs 31k. Neither is universally better — pick by fit.

## Side by side

**Cognee**
- Open source · Infrastructure · 31k★ · Python · Apache-2.0 · active today
- Best for: Agents whose memory should be structured around entities and relationships rather than a flat vector store.
- [listing](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/cognee) · [official](https://www.cognee.ai)

**daytona**
- Open source · Infrastructure · 72k★ · active 2 months ago
- Best for: Running AI-generated code in secure, elastic sandboxes.
- Avoid if: You need a maintained open-source repository; upstream states development moved to a private codebase in June 2026 and this repository receives no further updates.
- [listing](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/daytona) · [official](https://daytona.io)

## Key differences

- daytona has wider GitHub adoption — 72k stars vs 31k.

## Which to choose

**Choose Cognee if:** Agents whose memory should be structured around entities and relationships rather than a flat vector store.

**Choose daytona if:** Running AI-generated code in secure, elastic sandboxes.

## FAQ

**What's the main difference between Cognee and daytona?**
daytona has wider GitHub adoption — 72k stars vs 31k.

**Is Cognee or daytona better?**
Neither is universally better. Cognee is the stronger fit for Agents whose memory should be structured around entities and relationships rather than a flat vector store; daytona for Running AI-generated code in secure, elastic sandboxes. Use the side-by-side specs to decide by your own constraints.

**Is Cognee or daytona free?**
Cognee is free to run and self-host; daytona is free to run and self-host. Both are free to self-host — you only pay for the infrastructure and any model or API usage.

**Which is more popular, Cognee or daytona?**
By GitHub stars — a proxy for open-source adoption — daytona is ahead (72k vs 31k). Stars measure attention, not necessarily the better fit for you.

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Source: [Agent Search Engine](https://agentsearchengine.app) — https://agentsearchengine.app/compare/cognee-vs-daytona