head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs maxurl
Zen Browser has 44,486 GitHub stars, 1,755 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. maxurl has 1,625 stars, 99 forks, 425 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 2,638% (44,486 vs 1,625 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; maxurl is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, maxurl 6%. 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 | maxurl | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 99 |
| 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 maxurl if
- You want the maxurl feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and maxurl 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 maxurl
English Português (Brasil) Image Max URL is a program that will try to find larger/original versions of images and videos, usually by replacing URL patterns. It currently contains support for \ 10,000 hardcoded websites (full list in sites.txt), but it also supports a number of generic engines (such as Wordpress and MediaWiki), which means it can work for many other websites as well. It is currently released as: Userscript: (most browsers) Stable: userscript smaller.user.js or OpenUserJS Development: userscript.user.js (recommended) It serves as the base for everything listed below. It also serves as a node modul…
read the full maxurl overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or maxurl more popular?
Zen Browser has 44,486 GitHub stars and maxurl has 1,625. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and maxurl free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and maxurl under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and maxurl?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and maxurl 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 maxurl?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (44,486 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose maxurl if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.