head to head · open source
Jitsi vs Zulip
Jitsi has 30,188 GitHub stars, 8,121 forks, 141 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zulip has 26,158 stars, 10,521 forks, 2,008 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Jitsi leads on adoption by 15% (30,188 vs 26,158 stars). Jitsi is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; Zulip is written in Python under Apache-2.0. Jitsi has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, Zulip 40%. Jitsi 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
| Jitsi | Zulip | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 26K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.1K | ⑂ 11K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Jitsi if
- You weight community size — 30K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Zulip if
- You want the Zulip feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Zulip fits your workflow better
About Jitsi
Jitsi Meet Jitsi Meet is a set of Open Source projects which empower users to use and deploy video conferencing platforms with state of the art video quality and features. Amongst others here are the main features Jitsi Meet offers: Support for all current browsers Mobile applications Web and native SDKs for integration HD audio and video Content sharing Raise hand and reactions Chat with private conversations Polls Virtual backgrounds And many more! Using Jitsi Meet Using Jitsi Meet is straightforward, as it's browser based. Head over to meet.jit.si and give it a try. It's scalable and free to use. All you need…
read the full Jitsi overview →
About Zulip
Zulip overview Zulip is an open source organized team chat app with unique [topic based threading][why zulip] that combines the best of email and chat to make remote work productive and delightful. Fortune 500 companies, [leading open source projects][rust case study], and thousands of other organizations use Zulip every day. Zulip is the only [modern team chat app][features] that is designed for both live and asynchronous conversations. Zulip is built by a distributed community of developers from all around the world, with 99+ people who have each contributed 100+ commits. With over 1,500 contributors merging…
read the full Zulip overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Jitsi or Zulip more popular?
Jitsi has 30,188 GitHub stars and Zulip has 26,158. Jitsi has the larger community by that measure.
Are Jitsi and Zulip free?
Both are open source. Jitsi is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Zulip under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Jitsi and Zulip?
Jitsi is written in TypeScript and Zulip in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Jitsi or Zulip?
Choose Jitsi if you want the larger community (30,188 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Zulip if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.