head to head · open source
Mermaid vs dataease
Mermaid has 90,293 GitHub stars, 9,266 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. dataease has 24,442 stars, 4,236 forks, 49 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Mermaid leads on adoption by 269% (90,293 vs 24,442 stars). Mermaid is written in TypeScript under MIT; dataease is written in Java under GPL-3.0. Mermaid has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, dataease 17%. dataease 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
| Mermaid | dataease | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 24K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.3K | ⑂ 4.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Mermaid if
- You weight community size — 90K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick dataease if
- You want the dataease feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and dataease fits your workflow better
About Mermaid
Mermaid is a JavaScript based diagramming tool that renders diagrams from Markdown like text definitions. It lives in the JavaScript/TypeScript ecosystem and operates both in the browser and in Node.js environments. The project’s core purpose is to eliminate the gap between software development and documentation by letting developers write diagrams alongside code, avoiding the rot and overhead of manual diagram maintenance.
read the full Mermaid overview →
About dataease
DataEase is an open source business intelligence and data visualization tool, written in Java and licensed under GPL 3.0, built for analysts and business teams who want to explore data and build charts by clicking and dragging rather than by writing code.
read the full dataease overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mermaid or dataease more popular?
Mermaid has 90,293 GitHub stars and dataease has 24,442. Mermaid has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mermaid and dataease free?
Both are open source. Mermaid is licensed under MIT and dataease under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mermaid and dataease?
Mermaid is written in TypeScript and dataease in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Mermaid or dataease?
Choose Mermaid if you want the larger community (90,293 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose dataease if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.