head to head · open source
LosslessCut vs Darktable
LosslessCut has 43,838 GitHub stars, 2,173 forks, 300 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Darktable has 13,088 stars, 1,434 forks, 678 open issues and last shipped yesterday. LosslessCut leads on adoption by 235% (43,838 vs 13,088 stars). LosslessCut is written in TypeScript under GPL-2.0; Darktable is written in C under GPL-3.0. LosslessCut has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, Darktable 11%. 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
| LosslessCut | Darktable | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 13K |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-14 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.2K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick LosslessCut if
- You weight community size — 44K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Darktable if
- You want the Darktable 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 Darktable fits your workflow better
About LosslessCut
LosslessCut is a cross platform desktop application for lossless editing of video, audio, and subtitle files. Built with Electron and TypeScript, it serves as a graphical interface to FFmpeg, enabling users to perform precise cuts, trims, merges, and track manipulations without re encoding, thus preserving original quality. It targets users who need to rapidly process media files—such as raw footage from cameras, drones, or smartphones—where re encoding would be time consuming and degrade fidelity.
read the full LosslessCut overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is LosslessCut or Darktable more popular?
LosslessCut has 43,838 GitHub stars and Darktable has 13,088. LosslessCut has the larger community by that measure.
Are LosslessCut and Darktable free?
Both are open source. LosslessCut is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Darktable under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between LosslessCut and Darktable?
LosslessCut is written in TypeScript and Darktable 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, LosslessCut or Darktable?
Choose LosslessCut if you want the larger community (43,838 stars) or its GPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose Darktable if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.