head to head · open source
Darktable vs Kdenlive
Darktable has 13,383 GitHub stars, 1,506 forks, 678 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Kdenlive has 6,038 stars, 556 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Darktable leads on adoption by 122% (13,383 vs 6,038 stars). Darktable is written in C under GPL-3.0; Kdenlive is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. Darktable has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Kdenlive 9%. 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 | Kdenlive | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 13K | ★ 6.0K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 556 |
| 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 Kdenlive if
- You want the Kdenlive feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and Kdenlive fits your workflow better
About Darktable
darktable ========= darktable is an open source photography workflow application and non destructive raw developer a virtual lighttable and darkroom for photographers. It manages your digital negatives in a database, lets you view them through a zoomable lighttable and enables you to develop raw images, enhance them and export them to local or remote storage. darktable is not a free Adobe® Lightroom® replacement. Table of Contents 1. Documentation 2. Website 3. Requirements Supported platforms Hardware AI features (optional) 4. Installing Latest release Development snapshot 5. Updating from older versions 6…
read the full Darktable overview →
About Kdenlive
Kdenlive Kdenlive is a powerful, free and open source video editor that brings professional grade video editing capabilities to everyone. Whether you're creating a simple family video or working on a complex project, Kdenlive provides the tools you need to bring your vision to life. For more information about Kdenlive's features, tutorials, and community, please visit our official website. There you can also find downloads for both stable releases and experimental daily builds for Kdenlive. Contributing to Kdenlive Kdenlive is a community driven project, and we welcome contributions from everyone! There are many…
read the full Kdenlive overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Darktable or Kdenlive more popular?
Darktable has 13,383 GitHub stars and Kdenlive has 6,038. Darktable has the larger community by that measure.
Are Darktable and Kdenlive free?
Both are open source. Darktable is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Kdenlive under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Darktable and Kdenlive?
Darktable is written in C and Kdenlive 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 Kdenlive?
Choose Darktable if you want the larger community (13,383 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Kdenlive if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.