head to head · open source
odysseus vs Zola
odysseus has 94,935 GitHub stars, 1,862 forks, 1,233 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zola has 1,538 stars, 297 forks, 28 open issues and last shipped 11 months ago. odysseus leads on adoption by 6,073% (94,935 vs 1,538 stars). odysseus is written in Python under AGPL-3.0; Zola is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. odysseus has attracted 2% as many forks as stars, Zola 19%. odysseus 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
| odysseus | Zola | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 95K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2025-12-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 297 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick odysseus if
- You weight community size — 95K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Zola if
- You want the Zola feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Zola fits your workflow better
About odysseus
A self hosted AI workspace for chat, agents, research, documents, email, notes, calendar, and local model workflows. Quick Start · Setup Guide · Contributing · Roadmap Quick Start dev is the default branch and gets the newest changes first. Use main if you want the more curated branch. Open when the containers are healthy. The first admin password is printed in docker compose logs odysseus . Native installs, GPU notes, Windows/macOS instructions, HTTPS, and configuration live in the setup guide. Features Chat + Agents — local/API models, tools, MCP, files, shell, skills, and memory. Cookbook — hardware aware…
read the full odysseus overview →
About Zola
Zola zola.chat Zola is the open source chat interface for all your models. Features Multi model support: OpenAI, Mistral, Claude, Gemini, Ollama (local models) Bring your own API key (BYOK) support via OpenRouter File uploads Clean, responsive UI with light/dark themes Built with Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, and prompt kit Open source and self hostable Customizable: user system prompt, multiple layout options Local AI with Ollama: Run models locally with automatic model detection Full MCP support (wip) Quick Start Option 1: With OpenAI (Cloud) Option 2: With Ollama (Local) Zola will automatically detect your local…
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Frequently asked questions
Is odysseus or Zola more popular?
odysseus has 94,935 GitHub stars and Zola has 1,538. odysseus has the larger community by that measure.
Are odysseus and Zola free?
Both are open source. odysseus is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Zola under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between odysseus and Zola?
odysseus is written in Python and Zola in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, odysseus or Zola?
Choose odysseus if you want the larger community (94,935 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Zola if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.