head to head · open source
Alacritty vs Zellij
Alacritty has 66,108 GitHub stars, 3,704 forks, 340 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zellij has 35,918 stars, 1,518 forks, 1,915 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Alacritty leads on adoption by 84% (66,108 vs 35,918 stars). Alacritty is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; Zellij is written in Rust under MIT. Alacritty has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Zellij 4%. Zellij was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (terminal), 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
| Alacritty | Zellij | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 36K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Rust | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.7K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Alacritty if
- You weight community size — 66K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Zellij if
- You want the Zellij feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Zellij fits your workflow better
About Alacritty
Alacritty A fast, cross platform, OpenGL terminal emulator About Alacritty is a modern terminal emulator that comes with sensible defaults, but allows for extensive configuration. By integrating with other applications, rather than reimplementing their functionality, it manages to provide a flexible set of features with high performance. The supported platforms currently consist of BSD, Linux, macOS and Windows. The software is considered to be at a beta level of readiness; there are a few missing features and bugs to be fixed, but it is already used by many as a daily driver. Precompiled binaries are available…
read the full Alacritty overview →
About Zellij
Zellij [ Installation ] [ Screencasts & Tutorials ] [ Configuration ] [ Layouts ] [ FAQ ] What is this? Zellij is a workspace aimed at developers, ops oriented people and anyone who loves the terminal. Similar programs are sometimes called "Terminal Multiplexers". Zellij is designed around the philosophy that one must not sacrifice simplicity for power, taking pride in its great experience out of the box as well as the advanced features it places at its users' fingertips. Zellij is geared toward beginner and power users alike allowing deep customizability, personal automation through layouts, true multiplayer…
read the full Zellij overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Alacritty or Zellij more popular?
Alacritty has 66,108 GitHub stars and Zellij has 35,918. Alacritty has the larger community by that measure.
Are Alacritty and Zellij free?
Both are open source. Alacritty is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Zellij under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Alacritty and Zellij?
Alacritty is written in Rust and Zellij in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Alacritty or Zellij?
Choose Alacritty if you want the larger community (66,108 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Zellij if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.