ObservalvsZed Attack Proxy (ZAP)
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Observal | Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 67/100 | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #32 of 209 in AI Agents | #4 of 78 in Security |
| GitHub stars | 4 533 | 16 058 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 210 | +243 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 33 | 31 |
| Latest release | v1.15.1 · 16 Oct 2026 | w2026-10-23 · 23 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Python | Java |
Which one should you pick?
Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) scores 80/100 against 67/100 for Observal, so it is the safer default.
Observal ships more often: 33 stable releases in the past year, against 31 for Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP).
If you want the quickest setup, Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) is easier to run; Observal needs more configuration.
Observal is growing faster right now (+1 210 stars in 30 days).
Observal details →Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) details →