Compare
Self-hosted OpusClip alternatives are $0 in code, but you still pay for servers and model keys; clipsdk is a hosted API at $0.03 a minute. Here are 5 projects compared on license, GitHub stars and hardware.
5 open-source OpusClip alternatives you can self-host in 2026
OpenShorts is the open-source OpusClip alternative to try first: MIT licensed, about 7,500 GitHub stars and a Docker setup. If you would rather skip the models and servers, clipsdk does the same job over HTTPS for $0.03 a source minute.
Best-of listsUpdated
Or one API call
$0.03per source minute
- Every clip included, up to 1080p60 and 20 Mb/s
- $1 free to start, 33 minutes of video
- Prepaid credit, no subscription
5 self-hosted projects, plus one hosted option
Stars and licenses come from GitHub; requirements come from each project's README.
OpenShorts
The most-starred project here. It runs in Docker with a Gemini key or a local LLM, tracks faces with MediaPipe and YOLOv8, and has its own MCP server.
- Price
- $0 self-hosted plus your server and model use. Its paid cloud starts at $12 a month for 100 minutes.
- Best for
- OpusClip-style clipping on your own servers
AI-Youtube-Shorts-Generator
A Python project that cuts a vertical short with face tracking. Local mode runs yt-dlp, faster-whisper and ffmpeg with an OpenAI or Gemini key.
- Price
- $0 code. The default mode needs a paid MuAPI key; local mode pays only for LLM calls.
- Best for
- Developers who want a small script to adapt
Clips Kitty
A Windows app with TalkNet active speaker detection, YOLOv8 pose and burned-in captions you can edit, in 19 languages. AGPL-3.0.
- Price
- $0. Runs on your PC; 16 GB of RAM, GPU optional.
- Best for
- Clipping on a Windows PC
clippyme
A Docker Compose app with active speaker tracking, 6 caption styles and local Whisper or Deepgram and ElevenLabs.
- Price
- $0 plus a Gemini key, and a speech API if you skip local Whisper.
- Best for
- A small Docker stack
ClippedAI
Whisper transcripts, pyannote speakers and animated subtitles on free HuggingFace and Groq keys. Its CC BY-NC 4.0 license bans commercial use, so it is not open source by OSI rules.
- Price
- $0, for non-commercial use only.
- Best for
- Personal projects
clipsdk
Not open source: a hosted API. Send an upload or a file URL and get ranked 9:16 clips with speaker reframe and captions, with no servers or models to run.
- Price
- $0.03 a source minute, no plan. $1 free credit, no watermark.
- Best for
- Skipping the self-hosting work
License, stars and what each one needs
| Project | License | GitHub stars | Needs | Commercial use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenShorts | MIT | About 7,500 | Docker, 8 GB of RAM, Gemini key or local LLM | Yes |
| AI-Youtube-Shorts-Generator | MIT | About 5,800 | Python 3.10+, a MuAPI, OpenAI or Gemini key | Yes |
| Clips Kitty | AGPL-3.0 | About 210 | Windows 10/11, 16 GB of RAM | Yes, sharing your changes |
| clippyme | MIT | 62 | Docker Compose v2, Gemini key | Yes |
| ClippedAI | CC BY-NC 4.0 | About 230 | Python 3.8+, ffmpeg, HuggingFace and Groq keys | No |
| clipsdk | Closed, hosted | Not public | An HTTPS request | Yes |
AGPL-3.0 asks you to share your changes, even when the code runs as a web service. Our prices are on pricing.
What the hosted route looks like
We sent this request with a NASA lesson just over 4 minutes long. It returned 3 clips with minimal captions in about a minute, scored 95 down to 82, for about $0.13; see pricing.
curl https://api.clipsdk.com/v1/clips \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $CLIPSDK_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"video_url": "https://api.clipsdk.com/f/lib/demo/thermal-energy-lesson.mp4",
"clips": 3,
"aspect": "9:16",
"reframe": "auto",
"captions": "minimal"
}'What self-hosting really costs
The code is free; running it is not. OpenShorts wants 8 GB of RAM or more and takes 5 to 8 minutes per 8-minute video on a CPU. Most projects also call a paid model, such as Gemini, OpenAI or MuAPI. Then add the server and the time to keep it all updated.
Licenses in one minute
MIT (OpenShorts, AI-Youtube-Shorts-Generator, clippyme) lets you use, change and sell the code as long as you keep the notice. AGPL-3.0 (Clips Kitty) means sharing your changes, even for a web service. CC BY-NC 4.0 (ClippedAI) rules out commercial use.
Questions, answered
Is there an open-source OpusClip alternative?
Yes. OpenShorts has the most GitHub stars, about 7,500, under the MIT license. AI-Youtube-Shorts-Generator (MIT), Clips Kitty (AGPL-3.0) and clippyme (MIT) are the others. ClippedAI's code is public but its license bans commercial use.
Can I self-host an AI video clipper for free?
The code is free, but you pay for the server and usually a model key: OpenShorts and clippyme call Gemini, and AI-Youtube-Shorts-Generator calls MuAPI, OpenAI or Gemini. Clips Kitty runs on a Windows PC.
When is a hosted API better than self-hosting?
When you clip often and don't want to run models and servers. clipsdk charges $0.03 a source minute with no plan; a lesson just over 4 minutes long, like the one on this page, costs about $0.13.
Keep reading
- Best OpusClip alternativesTen OpusClip alternatives ranked on price per minute, free plan, watermark, the links they take and API access.
- clipsdk vs OpusClip for developersclipsdk costs $0.03 per source minute with no monthly cap. OpusClip is about $0.097 on Pro credits, with a 15 hour monthly API cap. Prices, limits and a migration guide.
- Cut every lesson and webinar into teaser clipsUpload a lesson or webinar and get up to 20 ranked teaser clips with minimal captions and SRT files. A 45 minute lesson costs ~$1.35 and a 90 minute webinar ~$2.70.
- Best podcast clip generatorsSix podcast clip generators compared on price, free plan and watermark, the input they take and API access.
- Twitch clipping toolsSix AI clippers for Twitch compared on VOD import, layouts and price, from free plans to $39.99 a month.
- 10 video clipping APIs compared, $0.01 to $0.11 a minute10 APIs that turn long videos into vertical shorts, compared on price per source minute, how the API is sold, max source length, clips per video, captions, reframe, webhooks and rate limits. clipsdk is $0.03 a minute for files up to 3 hours.
Sources
- OpenShorts on GitHub, checked 7 November 2026
- OpenShorts pricing, checked 7 November 2026
- AI-Youtube-Shorts-Generator on GitHub, checked 7 November 2026
- Clips Kitty on GitHub, checked 7 November 2026
- clippyme on GitHub, checked 7 November 2026
- ClippedAI on GitHub, checked 7 November 2026
Start free
Your back catalog is full of shorts
Your first $1 is free: 33 minutes of video, every clip included up to 1080p60 and 20 Mb/s.
