head to head · open source
Puter vs Zen
Puter has 43,565 GitHub stars, 4,066 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped today. Zen has 4,225 stars, 143 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Puter leads on adoption by 931% (43,565 vs 4,225 stars). Puter is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; Zen is written in Go under MIT. Puter has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Zen 3%. Puter was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (gui), 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
| Puter | Zen | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 4.2K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.1K | ⑂ 143 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Puter if
- You weight community size — 44K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Zen if
- You want the Zen feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Zen fits your workflow better
About Puter
Puter is an open source, self hostable internet computer that delivers a full desktop environment running directly in a web browser. It functions as a cloud based operating system, integrating file storage, applications, and developer tooling into a single cohesive platform. The project lives in the browser based desktop and cloud infrastructure ecosystem, positioning itself as a free and open alternative to proprietary cloud desktop services.
read the full Puter overview →
About Zen
Zen is an open source desktop application written in Go for Windows, macOS, and Linux under the MIT license. It operates as a system wide ad blocker and privacy guard, so it applies to traffic from applications on the machine rather than only to browser tabs. It lives in the desktop security and privacy ecosystem, where users want filtering without browser extensions.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Puter or Zen more popular?
Puter has 43,565 GitHub stars and Zen has 4,225. Puter has the larger community by that measure.
Are Puter and Zen free?
Both are open source. Puter is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Zen under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Puter and Zen?
Puter is written in TypeScript and Zen in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Puter or Zen?
Choose Puter if you want the larger community (43,565 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Zen if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.