head to head · open source
Shotcut vs Darktable
Shotcut has 15,577 GitHub stars, 1,558 forks, 52 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Darktable has 13,383 stars, 1,506 forks, 678 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Shotcut leads on adoption by 16% (15,577 vs 13,383 stars). Shotcut is written in C++ under GPL-3.0; Darktable is written in C under GPL-3.0. Shotcut has attracted 10% 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
| Shotcut | Darktable | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 13K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | C |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Shotcut if
- You weight community size — 16K 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 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 Shotcut
Shotcut a free, open source, cross platform video editor Features: Roadmap: Install Binaries are regularly built and are available at Contributors Dan Dennedy : main author Brian Matherly : contributor Dependencies Shotcut's direct (linked or hard runtime) dependencies are: MLT: multimedia authoring framework Qt 6 (6.4 minimum): application and UI framework FFTW FFmpeg: multimedia format and codec libraries Frei0r: video plugins SDL: cross platform audio playback See for a more complete list including indirect and bundled dependencies. License GPLv3. See COPYING. How to build Warning : building Shotcut should…
read the full Shotcut overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Shotcut or Darktable more popular?
Shotcut has 15,577 GitHub stars and Darktable has 13,383. Shotcut has the larger community by that measure.
Are Shotcut and Darktable free?
Both are open source. Shotcut is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Darktable under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Shotcut and Darktable?
Shotcut is written in C++ 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, Shotcut or Darktable?
Choose Shotcut if you want the larger community (15,577 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Darktable if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.