head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs Thorium-Android
Zen Browser has 44,481 GitHub stars, 1,754 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Thorium-Android has 785 stars, 12 forks, 13 open issues and last shipped 26 days ago. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 5,566% (44,481 vs 785 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; Thorium-Android is written in various languages under BSD-3-Clause. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, Thorium-Android 2%. 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 | Thorium-Android | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 785 |
| License | MPL-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | C++ | — |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 12 |
| 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 Thorium-Android if
- You want the Thorium-Android feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- You evaluated both and Thorium-Android 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 Thorium-Android
Thorium Android is a repository that serves builds of Thorium for Android. It supports both arm32 and arm64 architectures, and the README describes it as a separate repository for Android builds. The project lives in the Android and Chromium ecosystem, because Thorium is a browser, the repository is categorized under Browsers & Extensions, and the topic list includes chromium.
read the full Thorium-Android overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or Thorium-Android more popular?
Zen Browser has 44,481 GitHub stars and Thorium-Android has 785. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and Thorium-Android free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Thorium-Android under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and Thorium-Android?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and Thorium-Android in various languages. 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 Thorium-Android?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (44,481 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose Thorium-Android if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.