head to head · open source
filmcraft vs pireel
filmcraft has 17,704 GitHub stars, 7,275 forks, 23 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. pireel has 1,355 stars, 115 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. filmcraft leads on adoption by 1,207% (17,704 vs 1,355 stars). filmcraft is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; pireel is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. filmcraft has attracted 41% as many forks as stars, pireel 8%. filmcraft was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (video-editor), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| filmcraft | pireel | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-06 | 2026-11-05 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.3K | ⑂ 115 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick filmcraft if
- You weight community size — 18K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick pireel if
- You want the pireel feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and pireel fits your workflow better
About filmcraft
FilmCraft Video editing, color and sound; an open source, clean room reimplementation of Adobe Premiere Pro, rebuilt in pure Rust. An open source, clean room take on the Adobe Premiere Pro workflow: native on macOS, Windows and Linux, and in the browser via WebAssembly. By the ArtCraft team. FilmCraft on getartcraft.com · ArtCraft · All Crafting Apps Apollo 11 Tranquility : a three minute documentary edit of NASA's 1969 launch, landing and moonwalk film, with subtitles from the mission transcript. Every frame in these screenshots comes from public domain footage, decoded, composited and graded by FilmCraft's own…
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About pireel
Pireel Studio An open source AI video editor built for humans and AI agents. English · 简体中文 Start with one clip, a collection of media, or a blank video. Edit directly on the canvas and timeline, or describe the result you want. Try Pireel · Connect an agent Pireel brings AI into a real editing workspace. AI can help make the first cut, but you stay in control of the canvas, timeline, captions, graphics, audio, and final export. What you can create Talking head videos with cleaner pacing and readable captions Short clips made from longer recordings Product demos, tutorials, explainers, and marketing videos Multi…
read the full pireel overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is filmcraft or pireel more popular?
filmcraft has 17,704 GitHub stars and pireel has 1,355. filmcraft has the larger community by that measure.
Are filmcraft and pireel free?
Both are open source. filmcraft is licensed under Apache-2.0 and pireel under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between filmcraft and pireel?
filmcraft is written in Rust and pireel in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, filmcraft or pireel?
Choose filmcraft if you want the larger community (17,704 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose pireel if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.