# OJS vs Zulip

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

| | OJS | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 62/100 | 82/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #2 of 2 in Publishing | #1 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 1 046 | 26 134 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +7 | +184 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 6 ✓ |
| Latest release | — | 12.3 · 21 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | PHP | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

Zulip scores 82/100 against 62/100 for OJS, so it is the safer default.

Zulip ships more often: 6 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for OJS.

If you want the quickest setup, Zulip is easier to run; OJS needs more configuration.

Zulip is growing faster right now (+184 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/ojs-vs-zulip