head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs SmartProxy
Zen Browser has 45,517 GitHub stars, 1,946 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SmartProxy has 2,771 stars, 167 forks, 27 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 1,543% (45,517 vs 2,771 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; SmartProxy is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, SmartProxy 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 | SmartProxy | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 2.8K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 167 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Zen Browser if
- You weight community size — 46K 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 SmartProxy if
- You want the SmartProxy feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and SmartProxy fits your workflow better
About Zen Browser
Zen Browser Zen is a firefox based browser with the aim of pushing your productivity to a new level! Download • Website • Documentation • Release Notes Firefox Versions Release Is currently built using Firefox version 155.0.1 ! Twilight Is currently built using Firefox version RC 155.0.1 ! Contributing If you'd like to report a bug, please do so on our GitHub Issues page and for feature requests, you can use GitHub Discussions. Zen is an open source project, and we welcome contributions from the community! Please take a look at the contribution guidelines before getting started! Partners Thanks to all the…
read the full Zen Browser overview →
About SmartProxy
SmartProxy Download From Store Firefox Desktop and Android Extension Chrome Extension Edge Extension What is SmartProxy SmartProxy is a Firefox/Chrome extension based on WebExtensions/Chrome Extensions technology. It uses patterns to automatically define rules to proxify your web experience. With SmartProxy, you don't need to change your proxy manually and turn it on and off. You can add your desired website to the proxy rules list with just one click. After that, when you visit that specific website, SmartProxy will act and all you data for that website will be transferred though the proxy, without you doing…
read the full SmartProxy overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or SmartProxy more popular?
Zen Browser has 45,517 GitHub stars and SmartProxy has 2,771. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and SmartProxy free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and SmartProxy under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and SmartProxy?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and SmartProxy 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 SmartProxy?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (45,517 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose SmartProxy if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.