head to head · open source
sharp vs OpenImageIO
sharp has 32,745 GitHub stars, 1,440 forks, 123 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenImageIO has 2,378 stars, 707 forks, 143 open issues and last shipped yesterday. sharp leads on adoption by 1,277% (32,745 vs 2,378 stars). sharp is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0; OpenImageIO is written in C++ under Apache-2.0. sharp has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, OpenImageIO 30%. sharp was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (image-processing), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| sharp | OpenImageIO | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 33K | ★ 2.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-10-07 | 2026-10-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 707 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick sharp if
- You weight community size — 33K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick OpenImageIO if
- You want the OpenImageIO feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and OpenImageIO fits your workflow better
About sharp
sharp is a high performance Node.js image processing library that converts large images in common formats into smaller, web friendly JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF and AVIF files, and it is built for JavaScript developers who need fast, dependency light resizing inside Node.js, Deno or Bun applications.
read the full sharp overview →
About OpenImageIO
OpenImageIO is a C++ toolset and format agnostic image I/O library for reading, writing, and processing images across the file formats used in visual effects and animation, built for VFX studios and the developers of renderers, compositors, viewers, and other production pipeline software.
read the full OpenImageIO overview →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Photo & Video Editors projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Photo & Video Editors field.
Frequently asked questions
Is sharp or OpenImageIO more popular?
sharp has 32,745 GitHub stars and OpenImageIO has 2,378. sharp has the larger community by that measure.
Are sharp and OpenImageIO free?
Both are open source. sharp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenImageIO under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between sharp and OpenImageIO?
sharp is written in JavaScript and OpenImageIO 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, sharp or OpenImageIO?
Choose sharp if you want the larger community (32,745 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose OpenImageIO if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.