head to head · open source
Zulip vs DesktopEditors
Zulip has 26,158 GitHub stars, 10,521 forks, 2,008 open issues and last shipped yesterday. DesktopEditors has 5,689 stars, 573 forks, 465 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. Zulip leads on adoption by 360% (26,158 vs 5,689 stars). Zulip is written in Python under Apache-2.0; DesktopEditors is written in various languages under AGPL-3.0. Zulip has attracted 40% as many forks as stars, DesktopEditors 10%. Zulip was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Zulip | DesktopEditors | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 5.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | — |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 573 |
| 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 DesktopEditors if
- You want the DesktopEditors feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- You evaluated both and DesktopEditors fits your workflow better
About Zulip
Zulip overview Zulip is an open source organized team chat app with unique [topic based threading][why zulip] that combines the best of email and chat to make remote work productive and delightful. Fortune 500 companies, [leading open source projects][rust case study], and thousands of other organizations use Zulip every day. Zulip is the only [modern team chat app][features] that is designed for both live and asynchronous conversations. Zulip is built by a distributed community of developers from all around the world, with 99+ people who have each contributed 100+ commits. With over 1,500 contributors merging…
read the full Zulip overview →
About DesktopEditors
Welcome to the ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors repo! ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors is a free office suite that combines text, spreadsheet, presentation, and PDF editors & Diagram Viewer. The application allows creating, viewing and editing documents stored on your Windows/Linux PC or Mac without an Internet connection. It is fully compatible with Office Open XML formats: .docx, .xlsx, .pptx. Features you'll love ✨ Take advantage of the powerful editors included in ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors: ONLYOFFICE Document Editor ONLYOFFICE Spreadsheet Editor ONLYOFFICE Presentation Editor ONLYOFFICE Form Creator ONLYOFFICE PDF…
read the full DesktopEditors 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 DesktopEditors more popular?
Zulip has 26,158 GitHub stars and DesktopEditors has 5,689. Zulip has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zulip and DesktopEditors free?
Both are open source. Zulip is licensed under Apache-2.0 and DesktopEditors under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zulip and DesktopEditors?
Zulip is written in Python and DesktopEditors in various languages. 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 DesktopEditors?
Choose Zulip if you want the larger community (26,158 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose DesktopEditors if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.