head to head · open source
Audacity vs GIMP
Audacity has 18,465 GitHub stars, 2,671 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped yesterday. GIMP has 6,432 stars, 890 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Audacity leads on adoption by 187% (18,465 vs 6,432 stars). Audacity is written in C++ under a custom or non-standard licence; GIMP is written in C under a custom or non-standard licence. Audacity has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, GIMP 14%. GIMP was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Audacity | GIMP | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 6.4K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | C++ | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 890 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Audacity if
- You weight community size — 18K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick GIMP if
- You want the GIMP feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and GIMP fits your workflow better
About Audacity
Audacity is an open source audio editor and recorder written in C++ and distributed under free software terms. It lives in the open source desktop audio editing ecosystem, where it provides a multi track interface for recording and editing audio on Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. The README describes the project as an easy to use audio tool, and the repository contains both the Audacity 3.x line and the in progress Audacity 4 line.
read the full Audacity overview →
About GIMP
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free, open source raster image editor aimed at photographers, designers, and illustrators who need professional grade editing tools without a commercial licence, and it is positioned in this registry as the open alternative to Adobe Photoshop.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Audacity or GIMP more popular?
Audacity has 18,465 GitHub stars and GIMP has 6,432. Audacity has the larger community by that measure.
Are Audacity and GIMP free?
Neither Audacity nor GIMP declares a licence in this registry, so check each project's own repository before relying on either for a commercial use. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Audacity and GIMP?
Audacity is written in C++ and GIMP in C. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Audacity or GIMP?
Choose Audacity if you want the larger community (18,465 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose GIMP if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.