head to head · open source
dash vs plotly.js
dash has 24,476 GitHub stars, 2,335 forks, 480 open issues and last shipped yesterday. plotly.js has 18,378 stars, 2,074 forks, 769 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. dash leads on adoption by 33% (24,476 vs 18,378 stars). dash is written in Python under MIT; plotly.js is written in JavaScript under MIT. dash has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, plotly.js 11%. dash was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (data-visualization, plotly), 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
| dash | plotly.js | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 18K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.3K | ⑂ 2.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick dash if
- You weight community size — 24K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick plotly.js if
- You want the plotly.js feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and plotly.js fits your workflow better
About dash
Dash Dash is the most downloaded, trusted Python framework for building ML & data science web apps . Built on top of Plotly.js, React and Flask, Dash ties modern UI elements like dropdowns, sliders, and graphs directly to your analytical Python code. Read our tutorial (proudly crafted ❤️ with Dash itself). Docs: Create your first Dash app in under 5 minutes dash.gallery: Dash app gallery with Python & R code Dash App Examples To learn more about Dash, read the extensive announcement letter or jump in with the user guide. Dash OSS & Dash Enterprise With Dash Open Source, Dash apps run on your local laptop or…
About plotly.js
Plotly.js is a standalone JavaScript data visualization library, and it also powers the Python and R modules named plotly in those respective ecosystems (referred to as Plotly.py and Plotly.R). Plotly.js can be used to produce dozens of chart types and visualizations, including statistical charts, 3D graphs, scientific charts, SVG and tile maps, financial charts and more. Contact us for Plotly.js consulting, dashboard development, application integration, and feature additions. Table of contents Load as a node module Load via script tag Bundles Alternative ways to load and build plotly.js Documentation Bugs and…
read the full plotly.js overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is dash or plotly.js more popular?
dash has 24,476 GitHub stars and plotly.js has 18,378. dash has the larger community by that measure.
Are dash and plotly.js free?
Both are open source. dash is licensed under MIT and plotly.js under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between dash and plotly.js?
dash is written in Python and plotly.js 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, dash or plotly.js?
Choose dash if you want the larger community (24,476 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose plotly.js if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.