head to head · open source
srs vs Zulip
srs has 29,249 GitHub stars, 5,694 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zulip has 25,921 stars, 10,247 forks, 2,008 open issues and last shipped yesterday. srs leads on adoption by 13% (29,249 vs 25,921 stars). srs is written in C++ under MIT; Zulip is written in Python under Apache-2.0. srs has attracted 19% as many forks as stars, Zulip 40%. srs 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
| srs | Zulip | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 29K | ★ 26K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.7K | ⑂ 10K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick srs if
- You weight community size — 29K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Zulip if
- You want the Zulip feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Zulip fits your workflow better
About srs
SRS (Simple Realtime Server) is an open source, AI driven real time media server written in C++ and released under the MIT license. It ingests and republishes live audio and video across a broad set of streaming protocols, including RTMP, WebRTC, HLS, HTTP FLV, HTTP TS, SRT, MPEG DASH, and GB28181. The project runs on Linux and macOS and is built for x86 64, ARMv7, AArch64, Apple M1, RISC V, LoongArch, and MIPS architectures. Codec support covers H.264, H.265, AV1, VP9, AAC, Opus, and G.711. The current line is SRS 8.0, and the project has been developed for roughly eleven years, with documentation published in b…
About Zulip
Zulip is an open source organized team chat application built on topic based threading, aimed at distributed teams that need live and asynchronous conversation in one place, and it is positioned as an open alternative to Slack.
read the full Zulip overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is srs or Zulip more popular?
srs has 29,249 GitHub stars and Zulip has 25,921. srs has the larger community by that measure.
Are srs and Zulip free?
Both are open source. srs is licensed under MIT and Zulip under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between srs and Zulip?
srs is written in C++ and Zulip in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, srs or Zulip?
Choose srs if you want the larger community (29,249 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Zulip if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.