head to head · open source
Audacity vs TagStudio
Audacity has 18,928 GitHub stars, 2,712 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped yesterday. TagStudio has 7,269 stars, 470 forks, 280 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Audacity leads on adoption by 160% (18,928 vs 7,269 stars). Audacity is written in C++ under a custom or non-standard licence; TagStudio is written in Python under GPL-3.0. Audacity has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, TagStudio 6%. Audacity 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 | TagStudio | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 7.3K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 470 |
| 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 TagStudio if
- You want the TagStudio feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and TagStudio 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 TagStudio
TagStudio: A User Focused Photo & File Management System TagStudio is a photo & file organization application with an underlying tag based system that focuses on giving freedom and flexibility to the user. No proprietary programs or formats, no sea of sidecar files, and no complete upheaval of your filesystem structure. Read the documentation and more at docs.tagstud.io! TagStudio Alpha v9.5.5 running on macOS Sequoia. Contents Feature Highlights Basic Usage Installation Goals & Priorities FAQ Translation hosting generously provided by Weblate. Check out our project page to help translate TagStudio! Feature…
read the full TagStudio overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Audacity or TagStudio more popular?
Audacity has 18,928 GitHub stars and TagStudio has 7,269. Audacity has the larger community by that measure.
Are Audacity and TagStudio free?
Both are open source. Audacity has no licence declared in this registry, and TagStudio is licensed under GPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Audacity and TagStudio?
Audacity is written in C++ and TagStudio 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 TagStudio?
Choose Audacity if you want the larger community (18,928 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose TagStudio if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.