head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs BrowserOS
Zen Browser has 45,517 GitHub stars, 1,946 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. BrowserOS has 14,225 stars, 1,525 forks, 82 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 220% (45,517 vs 14,225 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; BrowserOS is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, BrowserOS 11%. BrowserOS 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 | BrowserOS | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 14K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| 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 BrowserOS if
- You want the BrowserOS feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and BrowserOS 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 BrowserOS
Website · Docs · Enterprise Free · Open source · Everything runs on your machine A second browser, just for your AI agents. Import your logins from Chrome in one click, connect Claude Code, Codex, or any MCP agent, and hand off your web tasks. Agents run in parallel in their own tabs. You watch live, or replay any session like a video. BrowserOS neo is not a Chrome replacement. It is a secondary browser that sits next to Chrome, made friendly to agents. Get started 1. Install BrowserOS neo Prefer a direct download? Grab it for macOS or Windows. 2. Import from Chrome One click brings over your logins, bookmarks…
read the full BrowserOS overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or BrowserOS more popular?
Zen Browser has 45,517 GitHub stars and BrowserOS has 14,225. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and BrowserOS free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and BrowserOS under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and BrowserOS?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and BrowserOS 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 BrowserOS?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (45,517 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose BrowserOS if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.