head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs MaterialYouNewTab
Zen Browser has 45,517 GitHub stars, 1,946 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. MaterialYouNewTab has 758 stars, 195 forks, 64 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 5,905% (45,517 vs 758 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; MaterialYouNewTab is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, MaterialYouNewTab 26%. 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 | MaterialYouNewTab | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 758 |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 195 |
| 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 MaterialYouNewTab if
- You want the MaterialYouNewTab feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and MaterialYouNewTab 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 MaterialYouNewTab
MYNT: Material You New Tab MYNT: Material You New Tab is a versatile browser extension that personalizes your New Tab page with customizable themes, a welcoming message, and various handy tools, all while integrating seamlessly with your preferred search engine. ▪️ ▪️ Features • Installation Guide • Download • Currently Supported Languages Contributing • Star History • Issues and Support • Privacy Policy • License 🔴 🟡 🟢 Test live: ✨ Features Integrated Search : Search directly from the New Tab using your preferred search engine — Google, DuckDuckGo, Bing, Brave Search, YouTube, Wikipedia, and more, with…
read the full MaterialYouNewTab overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or MaterialYouNewTab more popular?
Zen Browser has 45,517 GitHub stars and MaterialYouNewTab has 758. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and MaterialYouNewTab free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and MaterialYouNewTab under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and MaterialYouNewTab?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and MaterialYouNewTab in JavaScript. 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 MaterialYouNewTab?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (45,517 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose MaterialYouNewTab if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.