head to head · open source
Shotcut vs PySceneDetect
Shotcut has 15,677 GitHub stars, 1,566 forks, 52 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PySceneDetect has 5,447 stars, 568 forks, 64 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Shotcut leads on adoption by 188% (15,677 vs 5,447 stars). Shotcut is written in C++ under GPL-3.0; PySceneDetect is written in Python under BSD-3-Clause. Shotcut has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, PySceneDetect 10%. PySceneDetect 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 | PySceneDetect | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 5.4K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | C++ | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-13 | 2026-11-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 568 |
| 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 PySceneDetect if
- You want the PySceneDetect feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and PySceneDetect 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 PySceneDetect
Video Cut Detection and Analysis Tool Latest Release: v0.7.1 (July 21, 2026) Website : scenedetect.com Quickstart Example : scenedetect.com/cli/ Documentation : scenedetect.com/docs/ Discord : Quick Install : pip install scenedetect upgrade Requires ffmpeg/mkvmerge for video splitting support. Windows builds (MSI installer/portable ZIP) can be found on the download page. A Docker image with all dependencies included is available as ghcr.io/breakthrough/pyscenedetect . Quick Start (Command Line) : Split input video on each fast cut using ffmpeg : scenedetect i video.mp4 split video Save some frames from each cut…
read the full PySceneDetect overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Shotcut or PySceneDetect more popular?
Shotcut has 15,677 GitHub stars and PySceneDetect has 5,447. Shotcut has the larger community by that measure.
Are Shotcut and PySceneDetect free?
Both are open source. Shotcut is licensed under GPL-3.0 and PySceneDetect under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Shotcut and PySceneDetect?
Shotcut is written in C++ and PySceneDetect 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, Shotcut or PySceneDetect?
Choose Shotcut if you want the larger community (15,677 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose PySceneDetect if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.