head to head · open source
libvips vs OpenShot
libvips has 11,656 GitHub stars, 797 forks, 78 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenShot has 6,523 stars, 812 forks, 418 open issues and last shipped today. libvips leads on adoption by 79% (11,656 vs 6,523 stars). libvips is written in C under LGPL-2.1; OpenShot is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence. libvips has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, OpenShot 12%. OpenShot 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
| libvips | OpenShot | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 12K | ★ 6.5K |
| License | LGPL-2.1 | Custom / other |
| Written in | C | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 797 | ⑂ 812 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick libvips if
- You weight community size — 12K stars and counting
- You want the LGPL-2.1 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick OpenShot if
- You want the OpenShot feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and OpenShot fits your workflow better
About libvips
libvips is a demand driven, horizontally threaded image processing library in C, licensed LGPL 2.1 or later, for developers who need to resize, convert and analyse large images quickly without exhausting memory.
read the full libvips overview →
About OpenShot
OpenShot Video Editor is a free, cross platform, open source video editor for Linux, Mac, and Windows, built for hobbyists, educators, and small production teams who want timeline based editing and animation without a commercial subscription.
read the full OpenShot overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is libvips or OpenShot more popular?
libvips has 11,656 GitHub stars and OpenShot has 6,523. libvips has the larger community by that measure.
Are libvips and OpenShot free?
Both are open source. libvips is licensed under LGPL-2.1, and OpenShot has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between libvips and OpenShot?
libvips is written in C and OpenShot in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, libvips or OpenShot?
Choose libvips if you want the larger community (11,656 stars) or its LGPL-2.1 licence terms. Choose OpenShot if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.