head to head · open source
OpenCut vs thumbor
OpenCut has 97,091 GitHub stars, 9,663 forks, 378 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. thumbor has 10,529 stars, 861 forks, 11 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenCut leads on adoption by 822% (97,091 vs 10,529 stars). OpenCut is written in TypeScript under MIT; thumbor is written in Python under MIT. OpenCut has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, thumbor 8%. thumbor 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 | thumbor | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 97K | ★ 11K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-24 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.7K | ⑂ 861 |
| 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 thumbor if
- You want the thumbor feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and thumbor 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 thumbor
Join thumbor bootcamp for a learning and contribution experience with ❤️ and 🤗 from the thumbor team Crop, resize, transform and much more, all on demand and AI Powered thumbor is trusted by hundreds of companies worldwide and many more! thumbor is a smart imaging service that enables on demand cropping, resizing, applying filters and optimizing images. Cropping photos automatically can be a frustrating experience with severed heads involved. thumbor uses AI for smart detection. thumbor is an HTTP server and you can create as many different images as you want just by varying path parameters: You should see an…
read the full thumbor overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenCut or thumbor more popular?
OpenCut has 97,091 GitHub stars and thumbor has 10,529. OpenCut has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenCut and thumbor free?
Both are open source. OpenCut is licensed under MIT and thumbor under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenCut and thumbor?
OpenCut is written in TypeScript and thumbor in Python. 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 thumbor?
Choose OpenCut if you want the larger community (97,091 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose thumbor if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.