head to head · open source
Zulip vs univer
Zulip has 26,158 GitHub stars, 10,521 forks, 2,008 open issues and last shipped yesterday. univer has 22,854 stars, 1,920 forks, 151 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zulip leads on adoption by 14% (26,158 vs 22,854 stars). Zulip is written in Python under Apache-2.0; univer is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Zulip has attracted 40% as many forks as stars, univer 8%. 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.
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Side by side
| Zulip | univer | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 23K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 1.9K |
| 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 univer if
- You want the univer 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 univer 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 univer
A full stack, isomorphic office SDK for building spreadsheets, documents, and presentations. Build embeddable productivity experiences with a plugin architecture, Canvas based rendering, a formula engine, and one Facade API that works in the browser and on Node.js. English 简体中文 繁體中文 日本語 한국어 Español 📖 Documentation ✨ Showcase 📘 API Reference 📝 Blog ✨ What is Univer? Univer is an open source SDK for creating office applications inside your own product. It gives you the building blocks for spreadsheet, document, and presentation experiences without forcing you into a hosted app or a fixed UI. Use Univer when you…
read the full univer overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zulip or univer more popular?
Zulip has 26,158 GitHub stars and univer has 22,854. Zulip has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zulip and univer free?
Both are open source. Zulip is licensed under Apache-2.0 and univer under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Zulip and univer?
Zulip is written in Python and univer 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 univer?
Choose Zulip if you want the larger community (26,158 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose univer if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.