head to head · open source
OpenCut vs vidcutter
OpenCut has 95,941 GitHub stars, 9,487 forks, 378 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. vidcutter has 1,996 stars, 153 forks, 298 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. OpenCut leads on adoption by 4,707% (95,941 vs 1,996 stars). OpenCut is written in TypeScript under MIT; vidcutter is written in Python under GPL-3.0. OpenCut has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, vidcutter 8%. vidcutter 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 | vidcutter | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 96K | ★ 2.0K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-24 | 2026-10-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.5K | ⑂ 153 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenCut if
- You weight community size — 96K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick vidcutter if
- You want the vidcutter feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and vidcutter 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 vidcutter
flatpak (Linux) or via the terminal: snap (Linux) or via the terminal: Arch Linux (incl. Manjaro/etc.) Users can install the stable version directly from the Arch Linux community repo packages or via AUR for the development version. LATEST STABLE RELEASE: $ sudo pacman S vidcutter Using an AUR helper like yay (replace yay with any other AUR helper): LATEST DEVELOPMENT RELEASE: $ yay S vidcutter git Ubuntu (incl. Mint/Debian/KDE Neon/etc.) Users can install the latest release via: ppa:ozmartian/apps The following set of commands will get you up and running: $ sudo add apt repository ppa:ozmartian/apps $ sudo apt…
read the full vidcutter overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenCut or vidcutter more popular?
OpenCut has 95,941 GitHub stars and vidcutter has 1,996. OpenCut has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenCut and vidcutter free?
Both are open source. OpenCut is licensed under MIT and vidcutter under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenCut and vidcutter?
OpenCut is written in TypeScript and vidcutter 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 vidcutter?
Choose OpenCut if you want the larger community (95,941 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose vidcutter if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.