head to head · open source
Zulip vs Colanode
Zulip has 25,921 GitHub stars, 10,247 forks, 2,008 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Colanode has 5,141 stars, 319 forks, 46 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. Zulip leads on adoption by 404% (25,921 vs 5,141 stars). Zulip is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Colanode is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Zulip has attracted 40% as many forks as stars, Colanode 6%. Zulip was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (chat, electron, slack), 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Zulip | Colanode | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 5.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-04-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 10K | ⑂ 319 |
| 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 Colanode if
- You want the Colanode feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Colanode 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 Colanode
Colanode is an open source, local first collaboration workspace that combines real time chat, rich text pages, and customizable databases into one platform that individuals and teams can self host to keep full control of their data.
read the full Colanode overview →
More in Business Software
Related comparisons
More Collaboration & Communication projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Collaboration & Communication field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Zulip or Colanode more popular?
Zulip has 25,921 GitHub stars and Colanode has 5,141. Zulip has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zulip and Colanode free?
Both are open source. Zulip is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Colanode under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zulip and Colanode?
Zulip is written in Python and Colanode in TypeScript. 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 Colanode?
Choose Zulip if you want the larger community (25,921 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Colanode if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.