head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs serenity
Zen Browser has 44,481 GitHub stars, 1,754 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. serenity has 33,840 stars, 3,541 forks, 739 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 31% (44,481 vs 33,840 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; serenity is written in C++ under BSD-2-Clause. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, serenity 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 | serenity | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 34K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Written in | C++ | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 3.5K |
| 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 serenity if
- You want the serenity feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-2-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and serenity 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 serenity
SerenityOS is a graphical Unix like operating system built for 64 bit x86, Arm, and RISC V computers. It is written in C++ and released under the BSD 2 Clause license, and it lives in the open source operating system ecosystem alongside other hobbyist and research kernels. The project describes itself as a love letter to 1990s user interfaces paired with a custom Unix like core, aiming for a marriage between the aesthetic of late 1990s productivity software and the power user accessibility of late 2000s Unix systems.
read the full serenity overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or serenity more popular?
Zen Browser has 44,481 GitHub stars and serenity has 33,840. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and serenity free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and serenity under BSD-2-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and serenity?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and serenity in C++. 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 serenity?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (44,481 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose serenity if its feature set, stack or BSD-2-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.