head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs obscura
Zen Browser has 44,481 GitHub stars, 1,754 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. obscura has 27,331 stars, 2,005 forks, 134 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 63% (44,481 vs 27,331 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; obscura is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, obscura 7%. 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 | obscura | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 27K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 2.0K |
| 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 obscura if
- You want the obscura feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and obscura 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 obscura
Obscura is an open source headless browser engine written in Rust, built for web scraping and AI agent automation. It runs real JavaScript through V8, speaks the Chrome DevTools Protocol, and presents itself as a drop in replacement for headless Chrome when driven by Puppeteer or Playwright. The project lives in the browser automation and headless browser corner of the Rust ecosystem, and it ships under the Apache 2.0 license.
read the full obscura overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or obscura more popular?
Zen Browser has 44,481 GitHub stars and obscura has 27,331. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and obscura free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and obscura under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and obscura?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and obscura in Rust. 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 obscura?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (44,481 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose obscura if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.