head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs refined-github
Zen Browser has 45,517 GitHub stars, 1,946 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. refined-github has 32,427 stars, 1,934 forks, 80 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 40% (45,517 vs 32,427 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; refined-github is written in TypeScript under MIT. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, refined-github 6%. Zen Browser 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
| Zen Browser | refined-github | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 32K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 1.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Zen Browser if
- You weight community size — 46K stars and counting
- You want the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick refined-github if
- You want the refined-github feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and refined-github fits your workflow better
About Zen Browser
Zen Browser Zen is a firefox based browser with the aim of pushing your productivity to a new level! Download • Website • Documentation • Release Notes Firefox Versions Release Is currently built using Firefox version 155.0.1 ! Twilight Is currently built using Firefox version RC 155.0.1 ! Contributing If you'd like to report a bug, please do so on our GitHub Issues page and for feature requests, you can use GitHub Discussions. Zen is an open source project, and we welcome contributions from the community! Please take a look at the contribution guidelines before getting started! Partners Thanks to all the…
read the full Zen Browser overview →
About refined-github
Refined GitHub Browser extension that simplifies the GitHub interface and adds useful features We use GitHub a lot and notice many annoyances we'd like to fix. So here be dragons. Our hope is that GitHub will notice and implement some of these much needed improvements. So if you like any of these improvements, please open a discussion on GitHub feedback or contact GitHub support about doing it. GitHub Enterprise is also supported: How to enable it. The GITHUB and REFINED GITHUB trademarks are owned by GitHub, Inc. and used under license. Install [link chrome]: 'Version published on Chrome Web Store' [link…
read the full refined-github overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or refined-github more popular?
Zen Browser has 45,517 GitHub stars and refined-github has 32,427. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and refined-github free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and refined-github under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and refined-github?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and refined-github 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, Zen Browser or refined-github?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (45,517 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose refined-github if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.