head to head · open source
OpenShot vs FableCut
OpenShot has 6,554 GitHub stars, 813 forks, 418 open issues and last shipped today. FableCut has 694 stars, 73 forks, 9 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. OpenShot leads on adoption by 844% (6,554 vs 694 stars). OpenShot is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; FableCut is written in JavaScript under MIT. OpenShot has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, FableCut 11%. OpenShot was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ffmpeg, video-editing), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| OpenShot | FableCut | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.6K | ★ 694 |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Python | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-28 | 2026-09-25 |
| Forks | ⑂ 813 | ⑂ 73 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenShot if
- You weight community size — 6.6K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick FableCut if
- You want the FableCut feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and FableCut fits your workflow better
About OpenShot
OpenShot Video Editor is a free, cross platform, open source video editor for Linux, Mac, and Windows, built for hobbyists, educators, and small production teams who want timeline based editing and animation without a commercial subscription.
read the full OpenShot overview →
About FableCut
FableCut is a zero dependency, MIT licensed browser video editor that runs as a Premiere style non linear editor in the browser and exposes its entire timeline as a single JSON document that AI agents can edit over MCP or REST.
read the full FableCut overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenShot or FableCut more popular?
OpenShot has 6,554 GitHub stars and FableCut has 694. OpenShot has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenShot and FableCut free?
Both are open source. OpenShot has no licence declared in this registry, and FableCut is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between OpenShot and FableCut?
OpenShot is written in Python and FableCut in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, OpenShot or FableCut?
Choose OpenShot if you want the larger community (6,554 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose FableCut if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.