OlaresvsZulip
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Olares | Zulip | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 65/100 | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #4 of 22 in Home Server | #1 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 5 330 | 26 134 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +45 | +191 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 135 | 6 |
| Latest release | 1.12.8-20261028 · 28 Oct 2026 | 12.3 · 21 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Python |
Which one should you pick?
Zulip scores 82/100 against 65/100 for Olares, so it is the safer default.
Olares ships more often: 135 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for Zulip.
If you want the quickest setup, Zulip is easier to run; Olares needs more configuration.
Zulip is growing faster right now (+191 stars in 30 days).
Olares details →Zulip details →
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