head to head · open source
manim vs solidcraft
manim has 94,927 GitHub stars, 7,781 forks, 500 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. solidcraft has 672 stars, 56 forks, 64 open issues and last shipped today. manim leads on adoption by 14,026% (94,927 vs 672 stars). manim is written in Python under MIT; solidcraft is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. manim has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, solidcraft 8%. solidcraft 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 | solidcraft | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 95K | ★ 672 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-09 | 2026-10-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.8K | ⑂ 56 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick manim if
- You weight community size — 95K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick solidcraft if
- You want the solidcraft 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 solidcraft 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 solidcraft
SolidCraft is an open source parametric 3D CAD application written in pure Rust, aimed at engineers, makers, and developers who want to design parts on the desktop, in the browser, or through AI agent automation.
read the full solidcraft overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is manim or solidcraft more popular?
manim has 94,927 GitHub stars and solidcraft has 672. manim has the larger community by that measure.
Are manim and solidcraft free?
Both are open source. manim is licensed under MIT and solidcraft under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between manim and solidcraft?
manim is written in Python and solidcraft 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, manim or solidcraft?
Choose manim if you want the larger community (94,927 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose solidcraft if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.