consulvsZulip
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| consul | Zulip | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 73/100 | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 31 in Networking | #1 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 30 089 | 26 134 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +8 | +191 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 6 |
| Latest release | v2.1.0 · 22 Oct 2026 | 12.3 · 21 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Python |
Which one should you pick?
Zulip scores 82/100 against 73/100 for consul, so it is the safer default.
consul ships more often: 7 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for Zulip.
If you want the quickest setup, Zulip is easier to run; consul needs more configuration.
Zulip is growing faster right now (+191 stars in 30 days).
consul details →Zulip details →