head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs parchi
Zen Browser has 44,486 GitHub stars, 1,755 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. parchi has 546 stars, 54 forks, 11 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 8,048% (44,486 vs 546 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; parchi is written in TypeScript under MIT. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, parchi 10%. 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 | parchi | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 546 |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 54 |
| 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 parchi if
- You want the parchi feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and parchi 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 parchi
Parchi is a free, MIT licensed AI browser copilot — a Chrome MV3 and Firefox 109+ extension written in TypeScript that puts chat driven browser automation in a side panel, built for people who want to navigate, read, click, type, extract, and summarize pages under their own model configuration.
read the full parchi overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or parchi more popular?
Zen Browser has 44,486 GitHub stars and parchi has 546. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and parchi free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and parchi under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and parchi?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and parchi 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 parchi?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (44,486 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose parchi if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.