head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs gosub-engine
Zen Browser has 44,486 GitHub stars, 1,755 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. gosub-engine has 3,685 stars, 180 forks, 43 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 1,107% (44,486 vs 3,685 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; gosub-engine is written in Rust under MIT. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, gosub-engine 5%. gosub-engine 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 | gosub-engine | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 3.7K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 180 |
| 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 gosub-engine if
- You want the gosub-engine feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and gosub-engine 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 gosub-engine
Gosub is an embeddable, asynchronous browser engine written in Rust, aimed at developers who want to build browsing capability into their own application by supplying a render backend and compositor rather than embedding a full browser.
read the full gosub-engine overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or gosub-engine more popular?
Zen Browser has 44,486 GitHub stars and gosub-engine has 3,685. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and gosub-engine free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and gosub-engine under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and gosub-engine?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and gosub-engine in Rust. 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 gosub-engine?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (44,486 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose gosub-engine if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.