head to head · open source
diagram-design vs matplotplusplus
diagram-design has 64,318 GitHub stars, 4,247 forks, 42 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. matplotplusplus has 4,944 stars, 386 forks, 82 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. diagram-design leads on adoption by 1,201% (64,318 vs 4,944 stars). diagram-design is written in HTML under MIT; matplotplusplus is written in C++ under MIT. diagram-design has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, matplotplusplus 8%. diagram-design was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (data-visualization), 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
| diagram-design | matplotplusplus | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 64K | ★ 4.9K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | HTML | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-04-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.2K | ⑂ 386 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick diagram-design if
- You weight community size — 64K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches HTML
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick matplotplusplus if
- You want the matplotplusplus feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and matplotplusplus fits your workflow better
About diagram-design
Diagram Design Editorial diagrams your designer won't hate. New in 2.0 — the Loop: flywheels with a shared memory hub. The dashed lines are the write backs. New in 2.3: semantic system patterns and optional accessible motion, while static output stays the default. New in 2.5.10: ten more layout grammars — Sankey, fishbone, Wardley map, kanban, user journey, deployment, dependency graph, UML class, story map, and database schema. 39 editorial diagram types for Claude Code, Codex, Factory Droid, Pi, and Agent Skills compatible hosts. Self contained HTML + SVG. No shadows. No Mermaid slop. Semantic patterns…
read the full diagram-design overview →
About matplotplusplus
Matplot++ A C++ Graphics Library for Data Visualization Data visualization can help programmers and scientists identify trends in their data and efficiently communicate these results with their peers. Modern C++ is being used for a variety of scientific applications, and this environment can benefit considerably from graphics libraries that attend the typical design goals toward scientific data visualization. Besides the option of exporting results to other environments, the customary alternatives in C++ are either non dedicated libraries that depend on existing user interfaces or bindings to other languages…
read the full matplotplusplus overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is diagram-design or matplotplusplus more popular?
diagram-design has 64,318 GitHub stars and matplotplusplus has 4,944. diagram-design has the larger community by that measure.
Are diagram-design and matplotplusplus free?
Both are open source. diagram-design is licensed under MIT and matplotplusplus under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between diagram-design and matplotplusplus?
diagram-design is written in HTML and matplotplusplus in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, diagram-design or matplotplusplus?
Choose diagram-design if you want the larger community (64,318 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose matplotplusplus if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.