head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs canvas-editor
Zen Browser has 44,486 GitHub stars, 1,755 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. canvas-editor has 5,197 stars, 865 forks, 34 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 756% (44,486 vs 5,197 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; canvas-editor is written in TypeScript under MIT. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, canvas-editor 17%. Zen Browser 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 | canvas-editor | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 5.2K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 865 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Zen Browser if
- You weight community size — 44K 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 canvas-editor if
- You want the canvas-editor feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and canvas-editor 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 canvas-editor
Canvas Editor is an MIT licensed, Canvas/SVG based rich text editor written in TypeScript and published to npm as @hufe921/canvas editor , built for developers who need pixel perfect, Word like documents — EMR records, legal contracts, and reports — inside a browser instead of a contenteditable field.
read the full canvas-editor overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or canvas-editor more popular?
Zen Browser has 44,486 GitHub stars and canvas-editor has 5,197. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and canvas-editor free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and canvas-editor under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and canvas-editor?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and canvas-editor 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 canvas-editor?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (44,486 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose canvas-editor if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.