head to head · open source
Zulip vs hedgedoc
Zulip has 25,921 GitHub stars, 10,247 forks, 2,008 open issues and last shipped yesterday. hedgedoc has 7,426 stars, 596 forks, 275 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zulip leads on adoption by 249% (25,921 vs 7,426 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.
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Side by side
| Zulip | hedgedoc | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 7.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 10K | ⑂ 596 |
| 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 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 hedgedoc
HedgeDoc is an open source, self hostable collaborative markdown notes application, written in TypeScript and licensed under AGPL 3.0, for teams and individuals who need several people editing the same document in a browser at the same time.
read the full hedgedoc overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zulip or hedgedoc more popular?
Zulip has 25,921 GitHub stars and hedgedoc has 7,426. 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 (25,921 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.