head to head · open source
Audacity vs OpenShot
Audacity has 18,928 GitHub stars, 2,712 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenShot has 6,734 stars, 831 forks, 418 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Audacity leads on adoption by 181% (18,928 vs 6,734 stars). Audacity is written in C++ under a custom or non-standard licence; OpenShot is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence. Audacity has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, OpenShot 12%. OpenShot 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 | OpenShot | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 6.7K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | C++ | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 831 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Audacity if
- You weight community size — 19K 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 OpenShot if
- You want the OpenShot feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and OpenShot fits your workflow better
About Audacity
Audacity Audacity is an easy to use, multi track audio editor and recorder for Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. More info can be found on This repository is currently undergoing major structural change. We're currently working on Audacity 4, which means an entirely new UI and also refactorings aplenty. As such, the master branch is currently not particularly friendly to new contributors. It is still possible to submit patches to Audacity 3.x; make sure you branch off audacity3 if you choose to do so. Build instructions for 3.x can be found here; build instructions for Audacity 4 can be…
read the full Audacity overview →
About OpenShot
OpenShot Video Editor OpenShot Video Editor is an award winning free and open source video editor for Linux, Mac, and Windows, and is dedicated to delivering high quality video editing and animation solutions to the world. Build Status Features Cross platform (Linux, Mac, and Windows) Support for many video, audio, and image formats (based on FFmpeg) Powerful curve based Key frame animations Desktop integration (drag and drop support) Unlimited tracks / layers Clip resizing, scaling, trimming, snapping, rotation, and cutting Video transitions with real time previews Compositing, image overlays, watermarks Title…
read the full OpenShot overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Audacity or OpenShot more popular?
Audacity has 18,928 GitHub stars and OpenShot has 6,734. Audacity has the larger community by that measure.
Are Audacity and OpenShot free?
Neither Audacity nor OpenShot 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 OpenShot?
Audacity is written in C++ and OpenShot in Python. 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 OpenShot?
Choose Audacity if you want the larger community (18,928 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose OpenShot if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.