head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs kysely
Zen Browser has 44,481 GitHub stars, 1,754 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. kysely has 14,233 stars, 444 forks, 173 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 213% (44,481 vs 14,233 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; kysely is written in TypeScript under MIT. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, kysely 3%. 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 | kysely | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 14K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 444 |
| 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 kysely if
- You want the kysely feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and kysely 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 kysely
Kysely is a type safe TypeScript SQL query builder for Node.js, Deno, Bun, and the browser. It provides a fluent API to construct and execute type safe SQL queries, preventing runtime errors from invalid column names or incorrect data types. The core problem it solves is eliminating the fragility of raw SQL strings and the lack of type safety in many ORMs within the TypeScript ecosystem.
read the full kysely overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or kysely more popular?
Zen Browser has 44,481 GitHub stars and kysely has 14,233. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and kysely free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and kysely under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and kysely?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and kysely 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 kysely?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (44,481 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose kysely if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.