head to head · open source
Zen Browser vs zip.js
Zen Browser has 44,486 GitHub stars, 1,755 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. zip.js has 3,894 stars, 547 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Zen Browser leads on adoption by 1,042% (44,486 vs 3,894 stars). Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0; zip.js is written in JavaScript under BSD-3-Clause. Zen Browser has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, zip.js 14%. 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 | zip.js | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 3.9K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | C++ | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 547 |
| 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 zip.js if
- You want the zip.js feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and zip.js 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 zip.js
zip.js is a BSD 3 Clause JavaScript library for compressing and decompressing zip files in browsers, Node.js, Deno and service workers, built for developers who need to read and write large archives in JavaScript without a native binary or a server round trip.
read the full zip.js overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zen Browser or zip.js more popular?
Zen Browser has 44,486 GitHub stars and zip.js has 3,894. Zen Browser has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zen Browser and zip.js free?
Both are open source. Zen Browser is licensed under MPL-2.0 and zip.js under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zen Browser and zip.js?
Zen Browser is written in C++ and zip.js 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 zip.js?
Choose Zen Browser if you want the larger community (44,486 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose zip.js if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.