head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs Deta Surf
Zen Browser has 45,517 GitHub stars, 1,946 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Deta Surf has 3,615 stars, 253 forks, 32 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 1,159% (45,517 vs 3,615 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; Deta Surf is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, Deta Surf 7%. 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 | Deta Surf | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 3.6K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-08-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 253 |
| 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 Deta Surf if
- You want the Deta Surf feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Deta Surf 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 Deta Surf
Website Discord Deta Surf: Your AI Notebook Deta Surf is an AI notebook that brings all your files and the web directly into your stream of thought. It’s meant for simultaneous research and thinking that minimizes the grunt work: manually searching, opening windows & tabs, scrolling, copying and pasting into a document editor. Surf is primarily built in Svelte, TypeScript and Rust, runs on MacOS, Windows & Linux, stores data locally in open formats, and is open source. Motivation Most applications are focused on a single task, or a single media type: notes, websites, or PDFs. Real thinking requires juggling…
read the full Deta Surf overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or Deta Surf more popular?
Zen Browser has 45,517 GitHub stars and Deta Surf has 3,615. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and Deta Surf free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Deta Surf under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and Deta Surf?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and Deta Surf 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 Deta Surf?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (45,517 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose Deta Surf if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.