head to head · open source
Darktable vs GIMP
Darktable has 13,088 GitHub stars, 1,434 forks, 678 open issues and last shipped yesterday. GIMP has 6,432 stars, 890 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Darktable leads on adoption by 103% (13,088 vs 6,432 stars). Darktable is written in C under GPL-3.0; GIMP is written in C under a custom or non-standard licence. Darktable has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, GIMP 14%. Darktable 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
| Darktable | GIMP | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 13K | ★ 6.4K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | C | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 890 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Darktable if
- You weight community size — 13K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 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 Darktable
Darktable is an open source photography workflow application and non destructive raw developer. It acts as a virtual lighttable and darkroom for photographers, and it lives in the open source photography ecosystem as a C project licensed under the GPL 3.0. It manages digital negatives in a database, lets a user view them through a zoomable lighttable, and supports raw development, enhancement, and export to local or remote storage.
read the full Darktable 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 Darktable or GIMP more popular?
Darktable has 13,088 GitHub stars and GIMP has 6,432. Darktable has the larger community by that measure.
Are Darktable and GIMP free?
Both are open source. Darktable is licensed under GPL-3.0, and GIMP has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Darktable and GIMP?
Darktable 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, Darktable or GIMP?
Choose Darktable if you want the larger community (13,088 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose GIMP if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.