head to head · open source
Zulip vs hedgedoc
Zulip has 26,158 GitHub stars, 10,521 forks, 2,008 open issues and last shipped yesterday. hedgedoc has 7,502 stars, 613 forks, 275 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zulip leads on adoption by 249% (26,158 vs 7,502 stars). Zulip is written in Python under Apache-2.0; hedgedoc is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Zulip has attracted 40% as many forks as stars, hedgedoc 8%. hedgedoc 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 | hedgedoc | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 7.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 613 |
| 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 hedgedoc if
- You want the hedgedoc feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and hedgedoc 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 hedgedoc
[![ HedgeDoc on matrix.org][matrix.org image]][matrix.org url] [![version][github version badge]][github release page] [![POEditor][poeditor image]][poeditor url] [![Mastodon][social mastodon image]][social mastodon] ![REUSE Compliance Check][reuse workflow badge] [![codecov][codecov badge]][codecov url] HedgeDoc lets you create real time collaborative markdown notes. Getting Started ℹ️ Read all about HedgeDoc and the history of the project on our website 🧪 Try out HedgeDoc with the [demo instance][hedgedoc demo]. Check out the [features page][hedgedoc demo features]! 💽 Install HedgeDoc yourself using the…
read the full hedgedoc 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 hedgedoc more popular?
Zulip has 26,158 GitHub stars and hedgedoc has 7,502. Zulip has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zulip and hedgedoc free?
Both are open source. Zulip is licensed under Apache-2.0 and hedgedoc under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zulip and hedgedoc?
Zulip is written in Python and hedgedoc 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 hedgedoc?
Choose Zulip if you want the larger community (26,158 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose hedgedoc if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.