head to head · open source
OpenCut vs GIMP
OpenCut has 89,680 GitHub stars, 8,852 forks, 378 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. GIMP has 6,432 stars, 890 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenCut leads on adoption by 1,294% (89,680 vs 6,432 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 | ★ 90K | ★ 6.4K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | C |
| Last push | 2026-08-10 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.9K | ⑂ 890 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenCut if
- You weight community size — 90K 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 is a free, MIT licensed video editor that runs in the browser and is being rebuilt to serve web, desktop, and mobile from a single codebase, aimed at creators who want an open source alternative to CapCut.
read the full OpenCut overview →
About GIMP
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free, open source raster image editor aimed at photographers, designers, and illustrators who need professional grade editing tools without a commercial licence, and it is positioned in this registry as the open alternative to Adobe Photoshop.
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenCut or GIMP more popular?
OpenCut has 89,680 GitHub stars and GIMP has 6,432. 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 (89,680 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose GIMP if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.