head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs mue
Zen Browser has 44,486 GitHub stars, 1,755 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. mue has 758 stars, 86 forks, 26 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 5,769% (44,486 vs 758 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; mue is written in JavaScript under BSD-3-Clause. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, mue 11%. 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 | mue | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 758 |
| License | MPL-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | C++ | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 86 |
| 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 mue if
- You want the mue feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and mue 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 mue
Mue is a fast, open source and free to use new tab page for modern browsers: a JavaScript web extension under the BSD 3 Clause licence that replaces the default new tab with a customisable, privacy focused start page, published for Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Whale with sideloadable builds on GitHub Releases.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or mue more popular?
Zen Browser has 44,486 GitHub stars and mue has 758. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and mue free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and mue under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and mue?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and mue 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 mue?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (44,486 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose mue if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.