head to head · open source
Fluxer vs Zen
Fluxer has 10,765 GitHub stars, 849 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zen has 4,347 stars, 145 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Fluxer leads on adoption by 148% (10,765 vs 4,347 stars). Fluxer is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; Zen is written in Go under MIT. Fluxer has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Zen 3%. Fluxer 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
| Fluxer | Zen | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 11K | ★ 4.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 849 | ⑂ 145 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Fluxer if
- You weight community size — 11K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Zen if
- You want the Zen feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Zen fits your workflow better
About Fluxer
Fluxer Fluxer is a free and open source instant messaging and VoIP chat app built for friends, groups, and communities.
read the full Fluxer overview →
About Zen
Zen: Your Comprehensive Ad Blocker and Privacy Guard There is, simply, no way, to ignore privacy. Because a citizenry’s freedoms are interdependent, to surrender your own privacy is really to surrender everyone’s. Edward Snowden, Permanent Record Website • Mastodon • Bluesky • Discord • Documentation Zen is an open source system wide ad blocker and privacy guard for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It works by setting up a proxy that intercepts HTTP requests from all applications, and blocks those serving ads, tracking scripts that monitor your behavior, malware, and other unwanted content. By operating at the system…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Fluxer or Zen more popular?
Fluxer has 10,765 GitHub stars and Zen has 4,347. Fluxer has the larger community by that measure.
Are Fluxer and Zen free?
Both are open source. Fluxer is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Zen under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Fluxer and Zen?
Fluxer is written in TypeScript and Zen in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Fluxer or Zen?
Choose Fluxer if you want the larger community (10,765 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Zen if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.