head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs just-the-browser
Zen Browser has 45,061 GitHub stars, 1,869 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. just-the-browser has 3,059 stars, 92 forks, 17 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 1,373% (45,061 vs 3,059 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; just-the-browser is written in Shell under MIT. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, just-the-browser 3%. 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 | just-the-browser | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 3.1K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-10-21 | 2026-10-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 92 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Zen Browser if
- You weight community size — 45K 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 just-the-browser if
- You want the just-the-browser feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and just-the-browser 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 just-the-browser
Just the Browser Just the Browser helps you remove AI features, telemetry data reporting, sponsored content, product integrations, and other annoyances from desktop web browsers. The goal is to give you "just the browser" and nothing else, using hidden settings in web browsers intended for companies and other organizations. This project includes configuration files for popular web browsers, documentation for installing and modifying them, and easy installation scripts. Install script The setup script can install the configuration files in a few clicks. You can also follow the manual guides for Google Chrome…
read the full just-the-browser overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or just-the-browser more popular?
Zen Browser has 45,061 GitHub stars and just-the-browser has 3,059. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and just-the-browser free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and just-the-browser under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and just-the-browser?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and just-the-browser in Shell. 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 just-the-browser?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (45,061 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose just-the-browser if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.