head to head · open source
Signal vs Zen
Signal has 29,568 GitHub stars, 6,933 forks, 498 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Zen has 4,343 stars, 145 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Signal leads on adoption by 581% (29,568 vs 4,343 stars). Signal is written in Kotlin under AGPL-3.0; Zen is written in Go under MIT. Signal has attracted 23% as many forks as stars, Zen 3%. Zen 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
| Signal | Zen | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 4.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Kotlin | Go |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.9K | ⑂ 145 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Signal if
- You weight community size — 30K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- 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 MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Zen fits your workflow better
About Signal
Signal Android Signal is a simple, powerful, and secure messenger that uses your phone's data connection (WiFi/4G/5G) to communicate securely. Millions of people use Signal every day for free and instantaneous communication anywhere in the world. Send and receive high fidelity messages, participate in HD voice/video calls, and explore a growing set of new features that help you stay connected. Signal’s advanced privacy preserving technology is always enabled, so you can focus on sharing the moments that matter with the people who matter to you. Currently available on the Play Store and signal.org. Also available…
read the full Signal overview →
About Zen
Zen: Your Comprehensive Ad Blocker and Privacy Guard There is, simply, no way, to ignore privacy. Because a citizenry’s freedoms are interdependent, to surrender your own privacy is really to surrender everyone’s. Edward Snowden, Permanent Record Website • Mastodon • Bluesky • Discord • Documentation Zen is an open source system wide ad blocker and privacy guard for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It works by setting up a proxy that intercepts HTTP requests from all applications, and blocks those serving ads, tracking scripts that monitor your behavior, malware, and other unwanted content. By operating at the system…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Signal or Zen more popular?
Signal has 29,568 GitHub stars and Zen has 4,343. Signal has the larger community by that measure.
Are Signal and Zen free?
Both are open source. Signal is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Zen under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Signal and Zen?
Signal is written in Kotlin and Zen in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Signal or Zen?
Choose Signal if you want the larger community (29,568 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Zen if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.