head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs cookie-editor
Zen Browser has 44,486 GitHub stars, 1,755 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. cookie-editor has 1,704 stars, 489 forks, 69 open issues and last shipped 15 days ago. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 2,511% (44,486 vs 1,704 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; cookie-editor is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, cookie-editor 29%. Zen Browser was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (firefox), 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
| Zen Browser | cookie-editor | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 489 |
| 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 cookie-editor if
- You want the cookie-editor feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and cookie-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 cookie-editor
Cookie Editor Cookie Editor is a browser extension/add on that lets you efficiently create, edit and delete cookies for the current tab. Perfect for developing, quickly testing or even manually managing your cookies for your privacy. Description Cookie Editor is designed to have a simple to use interface that let you do most standard cookie operations quickly. It is ideal for developing and testing web pages. You can easily create, edit and delete a cookie for the current page that you are visiting. There is also a handy button to mass delete all the cookies for the current page. Cookie Editor is available for: G…
read the full cookie-editor overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or cookie-editor more popular?
Zen Browser has 44,486 GitHub stars and cookie-editor has 1,704. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and cookie-editor free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and cookie-editor under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and cookie-editor?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and cookie-editor in JavaScript. 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 cookie-editor?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (44,486 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose cookie-editor if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.