head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs ego-lite
Zen Browser has 45,517 GitHub stars, 1,946 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ego-lite has 21,332 stars, 1,193 forks, 169 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 113% (45,517 vs 21,332 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; ego-lite is written in JavaScript under MIT. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, ego-lite 6%. Zen Browser was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| Zen Browser | ego-lite | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 21K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 1.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Zen Browser if
- You weight community size — 46K stars and counting
- You want the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ego-lite if
- You want the ego-lite feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and ego-lite fits your workflow better
About Zen Browser
Zen Browser Zen is a firefox based browser with the aim of pushing your productivity to a new level! Download • Website • Documentation • Release Notes Firefox Versions Release Is currently built using Firefox version 155.0.1 ! Twilight Is currently built using Firefox version RC 155.0.1 ! Contributing If you'd like to report a bug, please do so on our GitHub Issues page and for feature requests, you can use GitHub Discussions. Zen is an open source project, and we welcome contributions from the community! Please take a look at the contribution guidelines before getting started! Partners Thanks to all the…
read the full Zen Browser overview →
About ego-lite
The fastest browser for AI agents to run browser automation ego (lite) is a browser where you and your AI agents work in parallel. Your agents run multiple browser tasks in their own Spaces while your tabs stay yours, and tasks complete faster on fewer tokens. Existing tools like browser use and agent browser are browser automation frameworks: they need a separate browser to drive, logins never carry cleanly, and you and the agent end up fighting for the same tabs. ego lite is one browser designed from the start for the two of you to share. No extra setup, and the agent can always reach your real logins and tabs…
read the full ego-lite overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or ego-lite more popular?
Zen Browser has 45,517 GitHub stars and ego-lite has 21,332. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and ego-lite free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and ego-lite under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and ego-lite?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and ego-lite in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Zen Browser or ego-lite?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (45,517 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose ego-lite if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.