head to head · open source
anime vs draw.io
anime has 74,225 GitHub stars, 5,044 forks, 118 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. draw.io has 9,138 stars, 1,361 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. anime leads on adoption by 712% (74,225 vs 9,138 stars). anime is written in JavaScript under MIT; draw.io is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. anime has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, draw.io 15%. draw.io was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (javascript), 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.
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Side by side
| anime | draw.io | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 74K | ★ 9.1K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-08-21 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.0K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick anime if
- You weight community size — 74K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick draw.io if
- You want the draw.io feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and draw.io fits your workflow better
About anime
Anime.js Anime.js is a fast, multipurpose and lightweight JavaScript animation library with a simple, yet powerful API. It works with CSS properties, SVG, DOM attributes and JavaScript Objects. Sponsors Anime.js is 100% free and is only made possible with the help of our sponsors. Help the project become sustainable by sponsoring us on GitHub Sponsors . Platinum sponsors Silver sponsors Get featured here by becoming a GitHub Sponsor . Usage Anime.js V4 works by importing ES modules like so: V4 Documentation The full documentation is available here. V3 Migration guide You can find the v3 to v4 migration guide…
read the full anime overview →
About draw.io
draw.io About draw.io is a configurable diagramming and whiteboarding application, jointly owned and developed by draw.io Ltd (previously named JGraph) and draw.io AG. We also run a production deployment at License The source code in this repository is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. The icon sets, stencil libraries, and diagram templates are provided under the following terms: The icon sets and stencil libraries included in this software, and any derivatives thereof (including conversions to other formats, traced reproductions, substantially similar visual representations, or AI generated images created…
read the full draw.io overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is anime or draw.io more popular?
anime has 74,225 GitHub stars and draw.io has 9,138. anime has the larger community by that measure.
Are anime and draw.io free?
Both are open source. anime is licensed under MIT and draw.io under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between anime and draw.io?
anime is written in JavaScript and draw.io in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, anime or draw.io?
Choose anime if you want the larger community (74,225 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose draw.io if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.