# LotsNotes vs Basic Memory: Shared Business Notes for Every Agent, Edited in a Dashboard

Source: https://lotsnotes.com/blog/lotsnotes-vs-basic-memory
Published: 2026-11-07T14:58:51.916+00:00

**LotsNotes is the better fit when a team and its agents need one shared set of business notes that people edit in a dashboard and agents find by title.** I built LotsNotes, and every fact about Basic Memory below comes from its own pages. Basic Memory is a strong tool for a different job: a personal, local-first Markdown knowledge base with a graph and semantic search. Checked on 6 November 2026.

If you want the wider field first, I already listed both in [our roundup of the best notes tools with MCP support (2026)](https://lotsnotes.com/blog/best-second-brain-tools-with-mcp-support). This page is the head-to-head.

## LotsNotes vs Basic Memory at a glance

| | LotsNotes | Basic Memory |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | Shared workspace notes for a team and its agents | A knowledge base of Markdown files, local or hosted |
| Where you edit | In the dashboard at lotsnotes.com | Your own editor locally, or its web app on Cloud |
| How agents reach it | MCP at https://api.lotsnotes.com/mcp, or REST | MCP (local server or cloud endpoint), plus an API on cloud plans |
| How agents find a note | By title | Search by meaning, keyword and links |
| Safe saves | `expected_version` on every save | `expected_checksum` on writes and edits |
| History | Saved versions you can list and restore | File history on Cloud |
| People and roles | Owner, admin, member and viewer | Member limits per plan |
| Price | Free for one person, Pro $99 once | Free open source, Cloud from $19 a month |

## Where LotsNotes wins

**One shared place your team edits.** A LotsNotes workspace holds workspace-wide notes and folders. Your team opens lotsnotes.com, edits a note like a document, and every connected agent reads the same current version the next time it asks. Owners, admins and members can edit shared notes in the folders they can access, and viewers can read.

**Agents find notes by title.** You name a note `Pricing answers` or `AGENTS.md`, and the agent asks for it by that title. A note titled `AGENTS.md` holds agent instructions. There is nothing to index or tune, and your team can see exactly what the agent will read because it is a normal note on the page.

**Saves that never overwrite a teammate.** When an agent saves a note it can send `expected_version`, the version it last read. If someone changed the note since, the save fails with a version conflict instead of overwriting their edit, and the agent reads again and merges. Every save creates a version you can list and restore.

**Roles and members without a seat count.** You invite people as admin, member or viewer, with access to all folders or only selected ones. LotsNotes Pro includes unlimited team members with roles.

**A one-time price.** LotsNotes is free for one person: 1 workspace, 3 folders, unlimited notes and checklists, plus MCP and REST API access. LotsNotes Pro is $99 once, not a subscription, for unlimited workspaces, folders and team members. Pro is also included with any Pro or Business plan of LotsSocial, LotsBlog, LotsTeam, LotsCRM, LotsInvoice, LotsBusiness or LotsStore (all from [lotsnotes.com/pricing](https://lotsnotes.com/pricing)).

**Nothing to install.** You add the MCP URL to Claude, ChatGPT, Codex or Cursor, or hand a cloud agent the [API docs](https://api.lotsnotes.com/docs.md) and a key. The [connection guide](https://lotsnotes.com/blog/connect-claude-chatgpt-codex-cursor-to-lotsnotes) walks through each agent, and the API exposes 34 tools. Private notes never leave lotsnotes.com.

## What Basic Memory does well

Basic Memory is open source (AGPL-3.0) and free to run on your own machine. Locally it stores notes as plain Markdown files, by default in `~/basic-memory`, and an AI client reaches them through an MCP server it runs on your computer. On top of the files it builds a search index with full-text, semantic and knowledge graph search, so an agent can find a note by meaning even when the words differ. Its 1.0 release adds a wiki, live notes, document import and hosted agents in beta that run on instructions you write in a note.

Its docs list MCP tools including `read_note`, `write_note`, `edit_note`, `search_notes` and `build_context`, so agents read and write. Cloud adds a web app, file history for every note, comments and suggestions, and snapshots. If you want your memory as files you can open in Obsidian or VS Code, Basic Memory is built for that. Its own [local install guide](https://docs.basicmemory.com/local/local-install) and [cloud guide](https://docs.basicmemory.com/cloud/cloud-guide) show both routes.

## Price side by side

| Plan | Price | What the page says |
|---|---|---|
| LotsNotes Free | $0 | 1 workspace, 3 folders, unlimited notes and checklists, MCP and REST, for one person |
| LotsNotes Pro | $99 once | Unlimited workspaces, folders and team members with roles |
| Basic Memory open source | Free | Runs on your own machine |
| Basic Memory Cloud | $19 a month per workspace | 7-day trial, 1,900 credits, 2 members, 3 API keys |
| Basic Memory Pro | $99 a month per workspace | 9,900 credits, 5 members, 10 API keys |
| Basic Memory Business | $249 a month per workspace | 24,900 credits, 25 members, audit logs |

Basic Memory credits cost $0.01 each and pay for your AI, the web app and its agents, with a spending limit on from day one. Prices from [basicmemory.com/pricing](https://basicmemory.com/pricing), checked on 6 November 2026.

## Which one should you pick

Pick LotsNotes if your notes are the business context your team and agents share: positioning, pricing answers, rules, SOPs and an `AGENTS.md` per agent. You edit them in a dashboard, you control who can edit with roles, and you pay once. My own workspace works this way: one folder per agent, each with its own instructions, plan and handoff note. If you run more than one agent, [the difference between agent memory and shared notes](https://lotsnotes.com/blog/ai-agent-memory-vs-shared-notes) explains why the shared note matters.

Pick Basic Memory if you want a personal, local-first Markdown knowledge graph with semantic search, or you want your memory as files in a folder you own. Many solo developers will like that.

For more tools in this space, see [the best MCP memory servers](https://lotsnotes.com/blog/best-mcp-memory-servers) and [LotsNotes vs Nuclino](https://lotsnotes.com/blog/lotsnotes-vs-nuclino).

## FAQ

### Does LotsNotes work with Basic Memory?

They solve the same problem in different ways, so most people pick one. LotsNotes keeps shared notes for a team in a workspace that every agent reaches over MCP or REST. Basic Memory keeps Markdown files you own, on your machine or in its cloud. If you want a shared place your whole team edits in a dashboard, I'd start with LotsNotes.

### How much does Basic Memory cost compared with LotsNotes?

On Basic Memory's pricing page (checked on 6 November 2026), the open source version is free on your own machine, Cloud is $19 a month, Pro is $99 a month and Business is $249 a month, each per workspace with usage credits at $0.01. LotsNotes is free for one person, and LotsNotes Pro is $99 once for unlimited workspaces, folders and team members with roles.

### Can an AI agent write to Basic Memory and LotsNotes?

Yes in both. Basic Memory's docs list MCP tools such as read_note, write_note, edit_note and search_notes. LotsNotes lets an agent find notes by title, read them and save changes, and a save can carry expected_version so it never overwrites a teammate's edit.

### Where do my notes live in each tool?

In Basic Memory, local notes are Markdown files in a folder on your computer, by default ~/basic-memory, and the cloud version hosts them for you. In LotsNotes, notes live in your workspace on lotsnotes.com, where you and your team edit them in the dashboard and your agents read the same current version.

### Do I need to run anything on my computer for LotsNotes?

No. You add the MCP URL https://api.lotsnotes.com/mcp to your agent, or give a cloud agent the API docs and a key. Nothing is installed locally.

## Sources

Checked on 6 November 2026: [basicmemory.com](https://basicmemory.com/), [basicmemory.com/pricing](https://basicmemory.com/pricing), [basicmemory.com/llms.txt](https://basicmemory.com/llms.txt), [Basic Memory docs](https://docs.basicmemory.com/), [file history](https://docs.basicmemory.com/cloud/file-history) and [comments and suggestions](https://docs.basicmemory.com/cloud/comments-and-suggestions). LotsNotes facts from [lotsnotes.com/pricing](https://lotsnotes.com/pricing) and the [LotsNotes API docs](https://api.lotsnotes.com/docs.md).