head to head · open source
Zulip vs chat
Zulip has 25,921 GitHub stars, 10,247 forks, 2,008 open issues and last shipped yesterday. chat has 13,508 stars, 2,078 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Zulip leads on adoption by 92% (25,921 vs 13,508 stars). Zulip is written in Python under Apache-2.0; chat is written in Go under GPL-3.0. Zulip has attracted 40% as many forks as stars, chat 15%. Zulip was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (chat, collaboration), 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
| Zulip | chat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 14K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 10K | ⑂ 2.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Zulip if
- You weight community size — 26K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick chat if
- You want the chat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and chat fits your workflow better
About Zulip
Zulip is an open source organized team chat application built on topic based threading, aimed at distributed teams that need live and asynchronous conversation in one place, and it is positioned as an open alternative to Slack.
read the full Zulip overview →
About chat
Tinode is an open source, full stack instant messaging server that pairs a Go backend with native iOS, Android, web, and command line clients, built for developers and operators who want to run or federate their own messaging platform rather than rent one.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zulip or chat more popular?
Zulip has 25,921 GitHub stars and chat has 13,508. Zulip has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zulip and chat free?
Both are open source. Zulip is licensed under Apache-2.0 and chat under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zulip and chat?
Zulip is written in Python and chat 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, Zulip or chat?
Choose Zulip if you want the larger community (25,921 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose chat if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.