head to head · open source
LosslessCut vs Kdenlive
LosslessCut has 43,838 GitHub stars, 2,173 forks, 300 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Kdenlive has 5,701 stars, 513 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. LosslessCut leads on adoption by 669% (43,838 vs 5,701 stars). LosslessCut is written in TypeScript under GPL-2.0; Kdenlive is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. LosslessCut has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, Kdenlive 9%. Kdenlive 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 | Kdenlive | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 5.7K |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-14 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.2K | ⑂ 513 |
| 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 Kdenlive if
- You want the Kdenlive 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 Kdenlive 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 Kdenlive
Kdenlive is a free and open source video editor written in C++, released under the GPL 3.0 license, and developed as part of the KDE ecosystem. It builds on the MLT framework for its editing and playback engine, uses Qt and KDE Frameworks 6 for its graphical interface, and draws on frei0r for video effects and LADSPA for audio effects. The project lives within KDE's development infrastructure, with its primary repository hosted on KDE Invent and a GitHub mirror maintained for visibility, and it is distributed through the official kdenlive.org website.
read the full Kdenlive overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is LosslessCut or Kdenlive more popular?
LosslessCut has 43,838 GitHub stars and Kdenlive has 5,701. LosslessCut has the larger community by that measure.
Are LosslessCut and Kdenlive free?
Both are open source. LosslessCut is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Kdenlive under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between LosslessCut and Kdenlive?
LosslessCut is written in TypeScript and Kdenlive 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 Kdenlive?
Choose LosslessCut if you want the larger community (43,838 stars) or its GPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose Kdenlive if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.