head to head · open source
filmcraft vs lightcraft
filmcraft has 17,303 GitHub stars, 7,149 forks, 23 open issues and last shipped yesterday. lightcraft has 15,318 stars, 5,886 forks, 347 open issues and last shipped yesterday. filmcraft leads on adoption by 13% (17,303 vs 15,318 stars). filmcraft is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; lightcraft is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. filmcraft has attracted 41% as many forks as stars, lightcraft 38%. filmcraft was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (art, rust), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| filmcraft | lightcraft | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 17K | ★ 15K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Rust | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.1K | ⑂ 5.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick filmcraft if
- You weight community size — 17K 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 lightcraft if
- You want the lightcraft feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and lightcraft 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…
read the full filmcraft overview →
About lightcraft
LightCraft Your photos. Your pixels. Your machine. English · 简体中文 Photo library and raw development; an open source, clean room reimplementation of Adobe Lightroom, rebuilt in pure Rust. Native on macOS, Windows and Linux. In the browser via WebAssembly. Drivable end to end by AI agents over MCP. LightCraft on getartcraft.com · ArtCraft · All Crafting Apps Ansel Adams, "The Tetons and the Snake River" (1942). Public domain, U.S. National Archives. Developed in LightCraft. [!NOTE] ArtCraft is a community of artists from all walks of life. Digital, generative, music, games — if you make things, you're one of…
read the full lightcraft overview →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Photo & Video Editors projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Photo & Video Editors field.
Frequently asked questions
Is filmcraft or lightcraft more popular?
filmcraft has 17,303 GitHub stars and lightcraft has 15,318. filmcraft has the larger community by that measure.
Are filmcraft and lightcraft free?
Both are open source. filmcraft is licensed under Apache-2.0 and lightcraft under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between filmcraft and lightcraft?
filmcraft is written in Rust and lightcraft in Rust. 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 lightcraft?
Choose filmcraft if you want the larger community (17,303 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose lightcraft if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.