head to head · open source
Shotcut vs Darktable
Shotcut has 15,230 GitHub stars, 1,507 forks, 52 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Darktable has 13,088 stars, 1,434 forks, 678 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Shotcut leads on adoption by 16% (15,230 vs 13,088 stars). Shotcut is written in C++ under GPL-3.0; Darktable is written in C under GPL-3.0. Shotcut has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Darktable 11%. Darktable 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
| Shotcut | Darktable | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 13K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| 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 Darktable if
- You want the Darktable feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and Darktable 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 Darktable
Darktable is an open source photography workflow application and non destructive raw developer. It acts as a virtual lighttable and darkroom for photographers, and it lives in the open source photography ecosystem as a C project licensed under the GPL 3.0. It manages digital negatives in a database, lets a user view them through a zoomable lighttable, and supports raw development, enhancement, and export to local or remote storage.
read the full Darktable overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Shotcut or Darktable more popular?
Shotcut has 15,230 GitHub stars and Darktable has 13,088. Shotcut has the larger community by that measure.
Are Shotcut and Darktable free?
Both are open source. Shotcut is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Darktable under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Shotcut and Darktable?
Shotcut is written in C++ and Darktable 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, Shotcut or Darktable?
Choose Shotcut if you want the larger community (15,230 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Darktable if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.