head to head · open source
G6 vs kepler.gl
G6 has 12,376 GitHub stars, 1,651 forks, 333 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. kepler.gl has 12,078 stars, 1,963 forks, 452 open issues and last shipped yesterday. G6 leads on adoption by 2% (12,376 vs 12,078 stars). G6 is written in TypeScript under MIT; kepler.gl is written in TypeScript under MIT. G6 has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, kepler.gl 16%. kepler.gl 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, 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
| G6 | kepler.gl | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 12K | ★ 12K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-27 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.7K | ⑂ 2.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick G6 if
- You weight community size — 12K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick kepler.gl if
- You want the kepler.gl feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and kepler.gl fits your workflow better
About G6
English 简体中文 G6: A Graph Visualization Framework in TypeScript Introduction • Examples • Quick Start • API G6 is a graph visualization engine. It provides basic capabilities for graph visualization and analysis such as drawing, layout, analysis, interaction, animation, themes, and plugins. With G6, users can quickly build their own graph visualization and analysis applications, making relational data simple, transparent, and meaningful. ✨ Features G6, as a professional graph visualization engine, boasts the following features: Rich Elements : It comes with a variety of built in node, edge, and Combo UI elements…
About kepler.gl
kepler.gl Website Demo App Docs [Kepler.gl][web] is a data agnostic, high performance web based application for visual exploration of large scale geolocation data sets. Built on top of MapLibre GL and deck.gl, kepler.gl can render millions of points representing thousands of trips and perform spatial aggregations on the fly. Kepler.gl is also a React component that uses Redux to manage its state and data flow. It can be embedded into other React Redux applications and is highly customizable. For information on how to embed kepler.gl in your app take a look at the documentation. Links [Website][web] [Demo][demo…
read the full kepler.gl overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is G6 or kepler.gl more popular?
G6 has 12,376 GitHub stars and kepler.gl has 12,078. G6 has the larger community by that measure.
Are G6 and kepler.gl free?
Both are open source. G6 is licensed under MIT and kepler.gl under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between G6 and kepler.gl?
G6 is written in TypeScript and kepler.gl in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, G6 or kepler.gl?
Choose G6 if you want the larger community (12,376 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose kepler.gl if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.