head to head · open source
Logseq vs Zen
Logseq has 44,955 GitHub stars, 2,815 forks, 942 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zen has 1,174 stars, 61 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Logseq leads on adoption by 3,729% (44,955 vs 1,174 stars). Logseq is written in Clojure under AGPL-3.0; Zen is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. Logseq has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Zen 5%. Logseq was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (markdown), 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
| Logseq | Zen | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Clojure | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.8K | ⑂ 61 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Logseq if
- You weight community size — 45K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Clojure
- 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 AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Zen fits your workflow better
About Logseq
Logseq is an open source, privacy first knowledge management platform built for local first workflows. It runs as a desktop application and web interface, storing data locally in Markdown or Org mode files, with optional SQLite backed DB graphs for advanced features. The project lives in the Clojure/ClojureScript ecosystem and is licensed under AGPL 3.0.
read the full Logseq overview →
About Zen
Zen is a self hosted note taking application that ships as a single Go binary or as a Docker Compose stack. Notes are written and stored as standard Markdown, with the content and its metadata kept in a local SQLite database. The project sits in the self hosted productivity and knowledge management ecosystem, alongside other personal note servers, and it presents itself as clean, distraction free, and lightweight by design.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Logseq or Zen more popular?
Logseq has 44,955 GitHub stars and Zen has 1,174. Logseq has the larger community by that measure.
Are Logseq and Zen free?
Both are open source. Logseq is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Zen under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Logseq and Zen?
Logseq is written in Clojure and Zen 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, Logseq or Zen?
Choose Logseq if you want the larger community (44,955 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Zen if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.