head to head · open source
OpenCut vs GIMP
OpenCut has 97,156 GitHub stars, 9,671 forks, 378 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. GIMP has 6,560 stars, 915 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenCut leads on adoption by 1,381% (97,156 vs 6,560 stars). OpenCut is written in TypeScript under MIT; GIMP is written in C under a custom or non-standard licence. OpenCut has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, GIMP 14%. GIMP 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
| OpenCut | GIMP | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 97K | ★ 6.6K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-24 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.7K | ⑂ 915 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenCut if
- You weight community size — 97K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick GIMP if
- You want the GIMP feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and GIMP fits your workflow better
About OpenCut
OpenCut A free and open source video editor for web, desktop, and mobile. Status OpenCut is being rewritten from the ground up. What's coming: An Editor API First class third party plugins (made possible by a plugin first architecture) Desktop, mobile, and browser from one codebase (Rust core) MCP server (for AI agents) Headless mode (automation, batch rendering) A scripting tab directly in the editor You can still find the previous version at opencut app/opencut classic, which is the one to reach for today. opencut.app still runs the classic version. The rewrite will live at new.opencut.app until it's ready to…
read the full OpenCut overview →
About GIMP
GNU Image Manipulation Program 3.3 Development Branch This is an unstable development release in the GIMP 3.3 series. If you think you found a bug in this version, please make sure that it hasn't been reported earlier and report it! If you want to hack on GIMP, please read the file devel docs/README.md. For detailed installation instructions, see the file INSTALL. 1. Web Resources ================ GIMP's home page is at: Please be sure to visit this site for information, documentation, tutorials, news, etc. All things GIMP ish are available from there. The latest version of GIMP can be found at: We also have a…
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenCut or GIMP more popular?
OpenCut has 97,156 GitHub stars and GIMP has 6,560. OpenCut has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenCut and GIMP free?
Both are open source. OpenCut is licensed under MIT, and GIMP has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between OpenCut and GIMP?
OpenCut is written in TypeScript and GIMP 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, OpenCut or GIMP?
Choose OpenCut if you want the larger community (97,156 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose GIMP if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.