head to head · open source
sharp vs OpenShot
sharp has 32,817 GitHub stars, 1,447 forks, 123 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. OpenShot has 6,734 stars, 831 forks, 418 open issues and last shipped yesterday. sharp leads on adoption by 387% (32,817 vs 6,734 stars). sharp is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0; OpenShot is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence. sharp has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, OpenShot 12%. OpenShot 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
| sharp | OpenShot | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 33K | ★ 6.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | JavaScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-10-29 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 831 |
| 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 OpenShot if
- You want the OpenShot feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and OpenShot fits your workflow better
About sharp
sharp The typical use case for this high speed Node API module is to convert large images in common formats to smaller, web friendly JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF and AVIF images of varying dimensions. It can be used with all JavaScript runtimes that provide support for Node API v9, including Node.js ( = 20.9.0), Deno and Bun. Resizing an image is typically 4x 5x faster than using the quickest ImageMagick and GraphicsMagick settings due to its use of libvips. Colour spaces, embedded ICC profiles and alpha transparency channels are all handled correctly. Lanczos resampling ensures quality is not sacrificed for speed. As…
read the full sharp overview →
About OpenShot
OpenShot Video Editor OpenShot Video Editor is an award winning free and open source video editor for Linux, Mac, and Windows, and is dedicated to delivering high quality video editing and animation solutions to the world. Build Status Features Cross platform (Linux, Mac, and Windows) Support for many video, audio, and image formats (based on FFmpeg) Powerful curve based Key frame animations Desktop integration (drag and drop support) Unlimited tracks / layers Clip resizing, scaling, trimming, snapping, rotation, and cutting Video transitions with real time previews Compositing, image overlays, watermarks Title…
read the full OpenShot overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is sharp or OpenShot more popular?
sharp has 32,817 GitHub stars and OpenShot has 6,734. sharp has the larger community by that measure.
Are sharp and OpenShot free?
Both are open source. sharp is licensed under Apache-2.0, and OpenShot has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between sharp and OpenShot?
sharp is written in JavaScript and OpenShot 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, sharp or OpenShot?
Choose sharp if you want the larger community (32,817 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose OpenShot if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.