head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs SingleFile
Zen Browser has 44,481 GitHub stars, 1,754 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SingleFile has 22,411 stars, 1,410 forks, 101 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 98% (44,481 vs 22,411 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; SingleFile is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, SingleFile 6%. 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 | SingleFile | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 22K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| 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 SingleFile if
- You want the SingleFile feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and SingleFile 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 SingleFile
SingleFile is a web extension, and also a command line tool, that saves a complete web page into a single HTML file. It is written in JavaScript and released under the AGPL 3.0 license, and it lives in the browser extension ecosystem, with builds published for Chrome, Firefox (desktop and mobile), Microsoft Edge, Safari, Vivaldi, Brave, Waterfox, Yandex browser, and Opera. The project has been developed for roughly sixteen years and is distributed through the extension stores of Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Microsoft Edge, as well as through manual installation from the project archive.
read the full SingleFile overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or SingleFile more popular?
Zen Browser has 44,481 GitHub stars and SingleFile has 22,411. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and SingleFile free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and SingleFile under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and SingleFile?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and SingleFile 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 SingleFile?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (44,481 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose SingleFile if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.