head to head · open source
Logseq vs Zen
Logseq has 45,460 GitHub stars, 2,866 forks, 942 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Zen has 1,194 stars, 65 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. Logseq leads on adoption by 3,707% (45,460 vs 1,194 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 | 2026-11-01 | 2026-10-25 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 65 |
| 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 A privacy first, open source platform for knowledge management and collaboration Home Page Blog Documentation Roadmap Table of Contents 🚀 Database Version 🤔 Why Logseq? 👀 How can I use it? 📚 Learn more 🫶 Support Logseq Development 💡 Feature requests 🔌 Plugin API 🌟 Contributing to Logseq 🛠️ Setting Up a Development Environment ✨ Inspiration 🙏 Thank You 🚀 Database Version The Database version (DB version) of Logseq introduces DB graphs. See this page to get an overview of the main features for DB graphs. If you are an existing user, see changes with the DB version. The DB version has its own new…
read the full Logseq overview →
About Zen
Zen Live Demo • Features • Updates Features Single Go binary or Docker Compose Low resource usage Standard Markdown files, local SQLite database Organize with flexible tags, not rigid folders Markdown features like tables, code blocks, task lists, highlights, and more Full text search with BM25 ranking Import and export data with full portability Templates Pinned notes Archive and soft delete notes Bulk archive and delete Internal note links with side panel preview Minimal dependency footprint Automated backups (via Zen Backup) Import from other services (via Zen Import) Experimental Features Canvas for spatial…
More in Productivity & Utilities
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Frequently asked questions
Is Logseq or Zen more popular?
Logseq has 45,460 GitHub stars and Zen has 1,194. 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 (45,460 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.