head to head · open source
echarts vs matplotplusplus
echarts has 67,348 GitHub stars, 19,819 forks, 1,501 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. matplotplusplus has 4,930 stars, 388 forks, 82 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. echarts leads on adoption by 1,266% (67,348 vs 4,930 stars). echarts is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; matplotplusplus is written in C++ under MIT. echarts has attracted 29% as many forks as stars, matplotplusplus 8%. echarts was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (charting-library, 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 | matplotplusplus | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 67K | ★ 4.9K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-16 | 2026-04-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 20K | ⑂ 388 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick echarts if
- You weight community size — 67K 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 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 echarts
Apache ECharts is a free, interactive charting and data visualization library that runs in the browser. It is written in pure JavaScript and built on top of zrender, a lightweight canvas library that handles rendering and interaction under the hood. The project lives in the JavaScript and TypeScript ecosystem, is distributed through npm as the echarts package, and is developed under the Apache Software Foundation with an Apache 2.0 license. Its source is written in TypeScript, and the repository has been maintained for more than a decade.
read the full echarts overview →
About matplotplusplus
Matplot++ is an MIT licensed C++ graphics library for data visualization, built for programmers and scientists who need to plot data from inside a C++ program rather than hand it off to another environment.
read the full matplotplusplus overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is echarts or matplotplusplus more popular?
echarts has 67,348 GitHub stars and matplotplusplus has 4,930. echarts has the larger community by that measure.
Are echarts and matplotplusplus free?
Both are open source. echarts is licensed under Apache-2.0 and matplotplusplus under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between echarts and matplotplusplus?
echarts is written in TypeScript 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, echarts or matplotplusplus?
Choose echarts if you want the larger community (67,348 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose matplotplusplus if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.