head to head · open source
echarts vs jfreechart
echarts has 67,666 GitHub stars, 19,970 forks, 1,501 open issues and last shipped 21 days ago. jfreechart has 1,393 stars, 674 forks, 164 open issues and last shipped 12 months ago. echarts leads on adoption by 4,758% (67,666 vs 1,393 stars). echarts is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; jfreechart is written in Java under LGPL-2.1. echarts has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, jfreechart 48%. echarts was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (charts, 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
| echarts | jfreechart | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 68K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | LGPL-2.1 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-10-13 | 2025-11-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 20K | ⑂ 674 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick echarts if
- You weight community size — 68K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick jfreechart if
- You want the jfreechart feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-2.1 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and jfreechart fits your workflow better
About echarts
Apache ECharts Apache ECharts is a free, powerful charting and visualization library offering easy ways to add intuitive, interactive, and highly customizable charts to your commercial products. It is written in pure JavaScript and based on zrender , which is a whole new lightweight canvas library. 中文官网 ENGLISH HOMEPAGE Get Apache ECharts You may choose one of the following methods: + Download from the official website + npm install echarts save + CDN: jsDelivr CDN Docs + Get Started + API + Option Manual + Examples Get Help + GitHub Issues for bug report and feature requests + Email dev@echarts.apache.org for…
read the full echarts overview →
About jfreechart
JFreeChart ========== Version 2.0.0, not yet released. Overview JFreeChart is a comprehensive free chart library for the Java& 8482; platform that can be used on the client side (JavaFX and Swing) or the server side, with export to multiple formats including SVG, PNG and PDF. The home page for the project is: JFreeChart requires JDK 11 or later. For Java 8 support, check the v1.5.x branch. The library is licensed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) version 2.1 or later. JavaFX JFreeChart can be used with JavaFX via the JFreeChart FX extensions: Demos A small set of demo applications…
read the full jfreechart overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is echarts or jfreechart more popular?
echarts has 67,666 GitHub stars and jfreechart has 1,393. echarts has the larger community by that measure.
Are echarts and jfreechart free?
Both are open source. echarts is licensed under Apache-2.0 and jfreechart under LGPL-2.1. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between echarts and jfreechart?
echarts is written in TypeScript and jfreechart 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, echarts or jfreechart?
Choose echarts if you want the larger community (67,666 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose jfreechart if its feature set, stack or LGPL-2.1 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.