head to head · open source
Shotcut vs Concat
Shotcut has 15,277 GitHub stars, 1,516 forks, 52 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Concat has 3,750 stars, 342 forks, 44 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Shotcut leads on adoption by 307% (15,277 vs 3,750 stars). Shotcut is written in C++ under GPL-3.0; Concat is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0. Shotcut has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Concat 9%. Concat was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (video-editor), 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
| Shotcut | Concat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-26 | 2026-09-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 342 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Shotcut if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Concat if
- You want the Concat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Concat fits your workflow better
About Shotcut
Shotcut is a free, open source, cross platform video editor written in C++ and released under the GPL 3.0 license. It lives in the Qt and MLT ecosystem, using Qt for its application and user interface and MLT as its multimedia authoring framework. It provides regularly built binaries for Linux, macOS, and Windows, and is positioned as an open alternative to Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve (Studio).
read the full Shotcut overview →
About Concat
Concat is a free, open source, cross platform video editor for macOS, Windows, Linux and Android, built as a CapCut replacement for people making TikTok, Reels, Shorts and YouTube videos, and also usable by scripts and AI agents through its API.
read the full Concat 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 Shotcut or Concat more popular?
Shotcut has 15,277 GitHub stars and Concat has 3,750. Shotcut has the larger community by that measure.
Are Shotcut and Concat free?
Both are open source. Shotcut is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Concat under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Shotcut and Concat?
Shotcut is written in C++ and Concat 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, Shotcut or Concat?
Choose Shotcut if you want the larger community (15,277 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Concat if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.