head to head · open source
OpenCut vs Shotcut
OpenCut has 97,156 GitHub stars, 9,671 forks, 378 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Shotcut has 15,577 stars, 1,558 forks, 52 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenCut leads on adoption by 524% (97,156 vs 15,577 stars). OpenCut is written in TypeScript under MIT; Shotcut is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. OpenCut has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Shotcut 10%. Shotcut 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 | Shotcut | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 97K | ★ 16K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-24 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.7K | ⑂ 1.6K |
| 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 Shotcut if
- You want the Shotcut 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 Shotcut 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 Shotcut
Shotcut a free, open source, cross platform video editor Features: Roadmap: Install Binaries are regularly built and are available at Contributors Dan Dennedy : main author Brian Matherly : contributor Dependencies Shotcut's direct (linked or hard runtime) dependencies are: MLT: multimedia authoring framework Qt 6 (6.4 minimum): application and UI framework FFTW FFmpeg: multimedia format and codec libraries Frei0r: video plugins SDL: cross platform audio playback See for a more complete list including indirect and bundled dependencies. License GPLv3. See COPYING. How to build Warning : building Shotcut should…
read the full Shotcut overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenCut or Shotcut more popular?
OpenCut has 97,156 GitHub stars and Shotcut has 15,577. OpenCut has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenCut and Shotcut free?
Both are open source. OpenCut is licensed under MIT and Shotcut under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenCut and Shotcut?
OpenCut is written in TypeScript and Shotcut 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 Shotcut?
Choose OpenCut if you want the larger community (97,156 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Shotcut if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.