head to head · open source
Signal vs Zen
Signal has 29,364 GitHub stars, 6,892 forks, 498 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Zen has 4,225 stars, 143 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Signal leads on adoption by 595% (29,364 vs 4,225 stars). Signal is written in Kotlin under AGPL-3.0; Zen is written in Go under MIT. Signal has attracted 23% as many forks as stars, Zen 3%. Zen 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
| Signal | Zen | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 29K | ★ 4.2K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Kotlin | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.9K | ⑂ 143 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Signal if
- You weight community size — 29K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- 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 Signal
Signal Android is a secure messaging application for Android devices that delivers private communication via end to end encryption. Developed by Signal Messenger, LLC, it operates within the broader Signal ecosystem, which includes official iOS and desktop clients. The app uses mobile data or Wi Fi to send and receive encrypted messages, voice calls, and video calls without relying on traditional SMS or telephony infrastructure.
read the full Signal 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 Signal or Zen more popular?
Signal has 29,364 GitHub stars and Zen has 4,225. Signal has the larger community by that measure.
Are Signal and Zen free?
Both are open source. Signal is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Zen under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Signal and Zen?
Signal is written in Kotlin 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, Signal or Zen?
Choose Signal if you want the larger community (29,364 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Zen if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.