head to head · open source
ComfyUI vs Zola
ComfyUI has 133,963 GitHub stars, 15,874 forks, 4,894 open issues and last shipped today. Zola has 1,530 stars, 295 forks, 28 open issues and last shipped 9 months ago. ComfyUI leads on adoption by 8,656% (133,963 vs 1,530 stars). ComfyUI is written in Python under GPL-3.0; Zola is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. ComfyUI has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, Zola 19%. ComfyUI was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ai), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| ComfyUI | Zola | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 134K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2025-12-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 16K | ⑂ 295 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ComfyUI if
- You weight community size — 134K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Zola if
- You want the Zola feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Zola fits your workflow better
About ComfyUI
ComfyUI is a GPL 3.0 licensed Python and PyTorch node graph application, local API, and backend for running diffusion models across image, video, audio, 3D, and text workflows, built for visual professionals who want control over every model, parameter, and output, and for developers who embed those workflows into production pipelines.
read the full ComfyUI overview →
About Zola
Zola is an open source TypeScript chat interface for multiple AI model providers. It lives in the AI interaction and interface ecosystem and gives users one chat surface for OpenAI, Mistral, Claude, Gemini, and local Ollama models. The project uses Apache 2.0 and is built with Next.js, prompt kit, shadcn/ui, Tailwind CSS, Vercel AI SDK, and Supabase.
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Frequently asked questions
Is ComfyUI or Zola more popular?
ComfyUI has 133,963 GitHub stars and Zola has 1,530. ComfyUI has the larger community by that measure.
Are ComfyUI and Zola free?
Both are open source. ComfyUI is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Zola under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ComfyUI and Zola?
ComfyUI is written in Python and Zola in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, ComfyUI or Zola?
Choose ComfyUI if you want the larger community (133,963 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Zola if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.