# Sunshine vs Zulip

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

| | Sunshine | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 84/100 ✓ | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 22 in Remote Desktop | #1 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 42 746 ✓ | 26 134 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 270 ✓ | +191 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 86 ✓ | 6 |
| Latest release | v2026.1028.122642 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ | 12.3 · 21 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | C | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

Sunshine scores 84/100 against 82/100 for Zulip, so it is the safer default.

Sunshine ships more often: 86 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for Zulip.

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

Sunshine is growing faster right now (+1 270 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

## Related comparisons

- [Discourse vs Zulip](https://selfhost.directory/compare/discourse-vs-zulip)
- [Rocket.Chat vs Zulip](https://selfhost.directory/compare/rocketchat-vs-zulip)

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