diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1d37eb0..88f9eba 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -112,17 +112,24 @@ instinct serve --transport streamable-http  # streamable HTTP
 instinct serve --port 3777
 ```
 
-## Why Not Just CLAUDE.md?
+## How It Compares
 
 CLAUDE.md is good for hand-written rules. instinct is for patterns that should
 earn their way into rules through repetition.
 
 | Surface | Best fit | Different because |
 |---|---|---|
-| `instinct` | Coding-agent pattern memory | Local SQLite, confidence tiers, decay, cross-project promotion, MCP tools. |
-| [Mem0](https://github.com/mem0ai/mem0) | General AI memory layer | Broader memory product; instinct is narrower and coding-agent focused. |
-| [claude-mem](https://github.com/search?q=claude-mem&type=repositories) | Claude-specific memory experiments | instinct exposes MCP tools plus CLI exports across multiple agents. |
-| [Pieces](https://pieces.app/) | Developer snippets and workflow context | instinct stores repeated behavioral patterns rather than a general knowledge library. |
+| `instinct` | Coding-agent pattern memory | Local SQLite, confidence tiers, decay, cross-project promotion, MCP-native — works with any MCP-compatible agent. |
+| [Mem0](https://github.com/mem0ai/mem0) | General LLM memory layer | Broader memory product (chat history, episodic facts); instinct is narrower and coding-agent focused on behavioral patterns. |
+| [Letta](https://github.com/letta-ai/letta) (formerly MemGPT) | Stateful agent runtime | Full agent framework with memory built-in; instinct is a memory-only sidecar you bolt onto your existing agent. |
+| [LangMem](https://github.com/langchain-ai/langmem) | Memory for LangChain | Tied to LangChain ecosystem; instinct is framework-agnostic via MCP. |
+| [claude-mem](https://github.com/search?q=claude-mem&type=repositories) | Claude-specific memory experiments | instinct exposes MCP tools plus CLI exports across Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, Goose, and Codex. |
+| [Pieces](https://pieces.app/) | Developer snippets and workflow context | instinct stores repeated behavioral patterns; Pieces stores artifacts (snippets, links, screenshots). |
+| `CLAUDE.md` / `.cursorrules` | Hand-written rule files | Flat text, manual maintenance. instinct can export to these formats once a pattern matures. |
+
+**When to reach for instinct:** your agent makes the same correction or follows the same workflow more than 3 times and you don't want to keep retyping. instinct records once, promotes after repetition, and surfaces it back automatically.
+
+**When to reach for the others:** chat-history recall (Mem0), full agent runtime with built-in memory (Letta), LangChain integration (LangMem), or static hand-curated rules (CLAUDE.md / .cursorrules).
 
 ## Storage and Runtime