LibreWolf vs Zen Browser (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, LibreWolf and Zen Browser share a 2.8 GPA, both are free, so the choice depends on which features you need.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Zen Browser
Free, open-source desktop browser built around vertical tabs
Free
Which one is for you
Pick LibreWolf if
- Fits if you want Firefox without telemetry and with tracking blocked from the start
- Works for people who don't mind adjusting settings to get a site working
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you stream from DRM services, because DRM is disabled by design
- Watch out: cookies are cleared on close, so sites will log you out each time
- Not for you if you want it on your phone, as there's no Android version
- Watch out: it's maintained by volunteers and takes no donations
Pick Zen Browser if
- Fits if you prefer vertical tabs and want the rest of the screen left alone
- Works for Firefox users who want Workspaces and Split View built in
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you watch DRM-protected streaming in your browser, which won't play on Windows or Mac
- Not for you if you want the same browser on your phone, as no mobile version is planned
- Not for you if you want horizontal tabs, because the team says they aren't coming in the near future
- Watch out: it's labeled a beta and kept up by a small team, so bug fixes and requests can take time
How we grade them
| 2.8GPALibreWolfGood | 2.8GPAZen BrowserGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree and open source, and a program anyone can download and run. The FAQ says the project takes no donations. | AFree and open source with no paid tier at all. The team lives on optional donations through Patreon and Ko-fi and on sponsors, so whether you ever pay a penny is entirely your call. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe whole browser is free, with uBlock Origin already installed. | AFree outright, with nothing kept back: Workspaces, Split View, Compact Mode, Glance and the whole Zen Mods business. Sync is free too, riding on a Mozilla account. |
| Features | CNo telemetry, strict tracking protection, cookies cleared on close and fingerprint resistance. The gaps are written into the design: DRM is disabled, so DRM-protected video services won't play. | CThe tab features are Workspaces, Split View, Compact Mode, Glance and mods to restyle it. But it's a short list for a browser, and there's a hole in the middle of it: no Widevine license, so DRM-protected streaming won't play on Windows or Mac at all. Horizontal tabs aren't supported either. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. The hardening settings can log you out or break pages until you adjust them, so expect some tweaking. | CNo rating on record, and the whole thing is built round a vertical tab bar, with horizontal tabs not supported and not coming. If you've had tabs across the top for twenty years, that's relearning. It's also still labelled a beta, kept up by a small team. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWindows, Mac and Linux only. The FAQ says no one currently provides an Android version. | CDesktop only: Mac, Windows and Linux, with add-ons, bookmarks, history and passwords synced through Firefox Sync. No Android or iPhone version, and the FAQ says none is planned, so your phone browses something else. |
| Best for | a privacy-hardened Firefox | vertical tabs on an open-source browser |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: LibreWolf and Zen Browser. How we grade
Price against what you get
LibreWolf has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zen Browser has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
On this chart the two sit in the same place: the same score for the same starting price. Of the other browsers on the chart, none scores higher than LibreWolf for less, and none scores higher than Zen Browser for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- LibreWolf also covers ad and tracker blocking.
In commonFree planWindowsmacOSLinuxOpen sourceWeb browser
At a glance
| LibreWolf | Zen Browser | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | LibreWolf is free and open source. The FAQ says the project does not accept donations. | Zen is free and open-source with no paid tier. Development is supported by optional donations through Patreon and Ko-fi and by sponsors. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | LibreWolf community | Zen Team |
| Price read from | librewolf.net | zen-browser.app |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
LibreWolf
- DRM is disabled by design, so DRM-protected video services will not play.
- Resist-fingerprinting and cookie clearing can log you out of sites or break some pages until you adjust the settings.
- The FAQ says no one currently provides an Android version.
- It is maintained by volunteers and takes no donations.
Zen Browser
- Zen is labeled a beta and is maintained by a small team, so bug reports and feature requests can take time.
- There is no Android or iOS version, and the FAQ says none is planned.
- The FAQ says Zen has no Widevine license, so DRM-protected streaming does not play on Windows or macOS.
- Horizontal tabs are not supported; the team says they will not be added in the near future.
Key features
LibreWolf
- No telemetry
- The project states that it removes telemetry, data collection and experiments from the Firefox base.
- uBlock Origin included
- uBlock Origin comes installed with custom default filter lists, alongside Firefox's tracking protection set to strict.
- Anti-fingerprinting defaults
- It turns on resist-fingerprinting, reports the language as en-US to sites and disables WebGL, a common fingerprinting source.
- Cookies cleared on close
- Cookies and site data are deleted when the browser closes by default, and Total Cookie Protection is enabled.
- Privacy-oriented search engines
- The default search list includes DuckDuckGo and Searx rather than Google.
- Follows Firefox releases
- It is built from the latest Firefox stable source, so security fixes arrive with Firefox's own.
Zen Browser
- Workspaces
- Tabs are organized into Workspaces so that separate projects stay apart, with quick switching from one to another.
- Vertical tabs and Compact Mode
- The whole interface is built around a vertical tab bar. Compact Mode hides that bar until it is needed, leaving more of the screen for the page.
- Split View
- Split View shows tabs side by side for comparison. Tabs are selected with Ctrl or Shift and split from the right-click menu.
- Glance
- Glance gives quick access to the tabs a person uses most, without scrolling back through history to find them.
- Zen Mods
- Zen Mods are themes and modifications that change how the browser looks and behaves, and the documentation covers live CSS editing for further customization.
- Sync through Firefox Sync
- Signing in with a Mozilla account syncs add-ons, bookmarks, history, passwords and other browser data across devices.
Plans
LibreWolf
Free$0
The full browser for Windows, macOS and Linux, with uBlock Origin included.
Zen Browser
Free$0
The full browser for macOS, Windows and Linux, including Workspaces, Split View, Compact Mode and Zen Mods.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, LibreWolf or Zen Browser?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both LibreWolf and Zen Browser are free to use.
Which has a free plan, LibreWolf or Zen Browser?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both LibreWolf and Zen Browser have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.