head to head · open source
manim vs OpenPencil
manim has 94,045 GitHub stars, 7,724 forks, 500 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. OpenPencil has 8,369 stars, 815 forks, 46 open issues and last shipped yesterday. manim leads on adoption by 1,024% (94,045 vs 8,369 stars). manim is written in Python under MIT; OpenPencil is written in TypeScript under MIT. manim has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, OpenPencil 10%. OpenPencil 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
| manim | OpenPencil | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 94K | ★ 8.4K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-09 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.7K | ⑂ 815 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick manim if
- You weight community size — 94K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick OpenPencil if
- You want the OpenPencil feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and OpenPencil fits your workflow better
About manim
Manim is a Python animation engine for precise, programmatic rendering of explanatory mathematics videos, built for educators, mathematicians, and developers who want frame accurate control over every element of a mathematical animation instead of editing on a timeline.
read the full manim overview →
About OpenPencil
OpenPencil is an open source, AI native design editor that opens and writes native Figma .fig and Pencil .pen files, runs as a roughly 7 MB desktop app or in the browser, and is aimed at designers and developers who want a local, fully programmable alternative to Figma.
read the full OpenPencil overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is manim or OpenPencil more popular?
manim has 94,045 GitHub stars and OpenPencil has 8,369. manim has the larger community by that measure.
Are manim and OpenPencil free?
Both are open source. manim is licensed under MIT and OpenPencil under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between manim and OpenPencil?
manim is written in Python and OpenPencil 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, manim or OpenPencil?
Choose manim if you want the larger community (94,045 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose OpenPencil if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.