head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs Thorium-Win
Zen Browser has 44,481 GitHub stars, 1,754 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Thorium-Win has 2,534 stars, 54 forks, 25 open issues and last shipped 26 days ago. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 1,655% (44,481 vs 2,534 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; Thorium-Win is written in Batchfile under BSD-3-Clause. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, Thorium-Win 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-Win | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 2.5K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | C++ | Batchfile |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-23 |
| 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 Thorium-Win if
- You want the Thorium-Win feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches Batchfile
- You evaluated both and Thorium-Win 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-Win
Thorium Win is the Windows build repository for Thorium, a Chromium fork named after radioactive element No. 90. It lives in the Chromium browser ecosystem and provides Windows binaries built from the latest stable Chromium source. The repository is part of a broader Thorium project whose main repository hosts source code for all platforms and serves Linux builds.
read the full Thorium-Win overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or Thorium-Win more popular?
Zen Browser has 44,481 GitHub stars and Thorium-Win has 2,534. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and Thorium-Win free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Thorium-Win under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and Thorium-Win?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and Thorium-Win in Batchfile. 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-Win?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (44,481 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose Thorium-Win if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.