head to head · open source
OpenShot vs filmcraft
OpenShot has 6,598 GitHub stars, 818 forks, 418 open issues and last shipped yesterday. filmcraft has 1,343 stars, 344 forks, 23 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenShot leads on adoption by 391% (6,598 vs 1,343 stars). OpenShot is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; filmcraft is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. OpenShot has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, filmcraft 26%. filmcraft was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (video, 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 | filmcraft | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.6K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 818 | ⑂ 344 |
| 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 filmcraft if
- You want the filmcraft feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and filmcraft 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 filmcraft
FilmCraft is an open source, clean room reimplementation of the Adobe Premiere Pro editing workflow, written in pure Rust, for professional editors who want a native, self owned non linear editor on desktop or in the browser.
read the full filmcraft overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenShot or filmcraft more popular?
OpenShot has 6,598 GitHub stars and filmcraft has 1,343. OpenShot has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenShot and filmcraft free?
Both are open source. OpenShot has no licence declared in this registry, and filmcraft is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between OpenShot and filmcraft?
OpenShot is written in Python and filmcraft in Rust. 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 filmcraft?
Choose OpenShot if you want the larger community (6,598 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose filmcraft if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.