ChatterboxvsZulip
Two self-hosted Chat projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Chatterbox | Zulip | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 40/100 | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #85 of 110 in Chat | #1 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 182 | 26 133 |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +190 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 6 |
| Latest release | — | 12.3 · 21 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Python |
Which one should you pick?
Zulip scores 82/100 against 40/100 for Chatterbox, so it is the safer default.
Zulip ships more often: 6 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Chatterbox.
If you want the quickest setup, Zulip is easier to run; Chatterbox needs more configuration.
Zulip is growing faster right now (+190 stars in 30 days).
Chatterbox details →Zulip details →All Chat projects →
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