head to head · open source
Shotcut vs fabric-video-editor
Shotcut has 15,683 GitHub stars, 1,566 forks, 52 open issues and last shipped today. fabric-video-editor has 575 stars, 169 forks, 7 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. Shotcut leads on adoption by 2,627% (15,683 vs 575 stars). Shotcut is written in C++ under GPL-3.0; fabric-video-editor is written in TypeScript under MIT. Shotcut has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, fabric-video-editor 29%. Shotcut 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 | fabric-video-editor | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 575 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-15 | 2026-08-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 169 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Shotcut if
- You weight community size — 16K 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 fabric-video-editor if
- You want the fabric-video-editor feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and fabric-video-editor fits your workflow better
About Shotcut
Shotcut a free, open source, cross platform video editor Features: Roadmap: Install Binaries are regularly built and are available at Contributors Dan Dennedy : main author Brian Matherly : contributor Dependencies Shotcut's direct (linked or hard runtime) dependencies are: MLT: multimedia authoring framework Qt 6 (6.4 minimum): application and UI framework FFTW FFmpeg: multimedia format and codec libraries Frei0r: video plugins SDL: cross platform audio playback See for a more complete list including indirect and bundled dependencies. License GPLv3. See COPYING. How to build Warning : building Shotcut should…
read the full Shotcut overview →
About fabric-video-editor
The app's live link to test in the browser is: I build canvas and video editing tools professionally: timelines, design editors, and 3D product configurators for client products. If you cloned this while deciding whether to build or buy, that decision is exactly what I help with at Artless Studio. Fabric Video Editor Fabric Video Editor is a video editor that runs in the browser. It is built with fabric.js, Next.js (a React framework), Tailwindcss, Mobx, and typescript. Samples 3. New Updated UI 2. The editor supports Animations and Effects 1. Basic Working Tech Explanation todo Features [x] User can add [x]…
read the full fabric-video-editor 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 fabric-video-editor more popular?
Shotcut has 15,683 GitHub stars and fabric-video-editor has 575. Shotcut has the larger community by that measure.
Are Shotcut and fabric-video-editor free?
Both are open source. Shotcut is licensed under GPL-3.0 and fabric-video-editor under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Shotcut and fabric-video-editor?
Shotcut is written in C++ and fabric-video-editor in TypeScript. 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 fabric-video-editor?
Choose Shotcut if you want the larger community (15,683 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose fabric-video-editor if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.