# hestia vs Zulip

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | hestia | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 68/100 | 82/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #2 of 10 in Control Panel | #1 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 4 552 | 26 133 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +46 | +190 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 11 ✓ | 6 |
| Latest release | 1.10.5 · 14 Sept 2026 | 12.3 · 21 Sept 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Shell | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

Zulip scores 82/100 against 68/100 for hestia, so it is the safer default.

hestia ships more often: 11 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for Zulip.

Zulip is growing faster right now (+190 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [hestia](https://selfhost.directory/project/hestia) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/hestia.md)
- [Zulip](https://selfhost.directory/project/zulip) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/zulip.md)

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- [Discourse vs Zulip](https://selfhost.directory/compare/discourse-vs-zulip)
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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/hestia-vs-zulip