# pretalx vs Zulip

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

| | pretalx | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 62/100 | 82/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #2 of 3 in Conference Management | #1 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 954 | 26 134 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +8 | +184 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 ✓ | 6 |
| Latest release | v2026.2.1 · 8 Jul 2026 | 12.3 · 21 Sept 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Other | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Python | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

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

pretalx 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; pretalx needs more configuration.

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

## Details

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

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