head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs arc
Zen Browser has 44,519 GitHub stars, 1,760 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. arc has 676 stars, 53 forks, 57 open issues and last shipped today. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 6,486% (44,519 vs 676 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; arc is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, arc 8%. arc 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 | arc | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 676 |
| License | MPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 53 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Zen Browser if
- You weight community size — 45K 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 arc if
- You want the arc feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and arc fits your workflow better
About Zen Browser
Zen Browser is a privacy focused, open source web browser built on Firefox’s Gecko engine. It inherits Firefox’s compatibility and extension ecosystem while introducing a streamlined interface and productivity oriented features. The project lives in the desktop browser ecosystem, targeting users who want a Firefox based experience with reduced clutter and enhanced customization.
read the full Zen Browser overview →
About arc
Arc is an open, SQL native time series database, released under AGPL 3.0, for engineers and platform teams who need to keep full resolution telemetry from machines, services, vehicles, and devices and still query recent and historical data together in one system.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or arc more popular?
Zen Browser has 44,519 GitHub stars and arc has 676. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and arc free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and arc under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and arc?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and arc 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, Zen Browser or arc?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (44,519 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose arc if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.