head to head · open source
Shotcut vs GIMP
Shotcut has 15,230 GitHub stars, 1,507 forks, 52 open issues and last shipped yesterday. GIMP has 6,432 stars, 890 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Shotcut leads on adoption by 137% (15,230 vs 6,432 stars). Shotcut is written in C++ under GPL-3.0; GIMP is written in C under a custom or non-standard licence. Shotcut has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, GIMP 14%. GIMP 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 | GIMP | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 6.4K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | C++ | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 890 |
| 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 GIMP if
- You want the GIMP feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and GIMP 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 GIMP
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free, open source raster image editor aimed at photographers, designers, and illustrators who need professional grade editing tools without a commercial licence, and it is positioned in this registry as the open alternative to Adobe Photoshop.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Shotcut or GIMP more popular?
Shotcut has 15,230 GitHub stars and GIMP has 6,432. Shotcut has the larger community by that measure.
Are Shotcut and GIMP free?
Both are open source. Shotcut is licensed under GPL-3.0, and GIMP has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Shotcut and GIMP?
Shotcut is written in C++ and GIMP 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 GIMP?
Choose Shotcut if you want the larger community (15,230 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose GIMP if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.