head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs fingerprintjs
Zen Browser has 44,481 GitHub stars, 1,754 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. fingerprintjs has 28,466 stars, 2,621 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 56% (44,481 vs 28,466 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; fingerprintjs is written in TypeScript under MIT. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, fingerprintjs 9%. 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Zen Browser | fingerprintjs | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 28K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 2.6K |
| 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 fingerprintjs if
- You want the fingerprintjs feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and fingerprintjs 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 fingerprintjs
FingerprintJS is an open source, client side browser fingerprinting library that queries browser attributes and computes a hashed visitor identifier from them, aimed at web developers and engineering teams that need to recognise returning browsers without depending on cookies or local storage.
read the full fingerprintjs overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Browsers & Extensions projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Browsers & Extensions field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or fingerprintjs more popular?
Zen Browser has 44,481 GitHub stars and fingerprintjs has 28,466. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and fingerprintjs free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and fingerprintjs under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and fingerprintjs?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and fingerprintjs 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 fingerprintjs?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (44,481 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose fingerprintjs if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.