head to head · open source
manim vs Balloon
manim has 94,584 GitHub stars, 7,761 forks, 500 open issues and last shipped 26 days ago. Balloon has 4,011 stars, 310 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. manim leads on adoption by 2,258% (94,584 vs 4,011 stars). manim is written in Python under MIT; Balloon is written in Kotlin under Apache-2.0. manim has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Balloon 8%. Balloon was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (animation), 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
| manim | Balloon | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 95K | ★ 4.0K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-09-09 | 2026-09-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.8K | ⑂ 310 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick manim if
- You weight community size — 95K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Balloon if
- You want the Balloon feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You evaluated both and Balloon fits your workflow better
About manim
Manim is a Python animation engine for precise, programmatic rendering of explanatory mathematics videos, built for educators, mathematicians, and developers who want frame accurate control over every element of a mathematical animation instead of editing on a timeline.
read the full manim overview →
About Balloon
Balloon is an open source Kotlin tooltip library for Compose Multiplatform that gives Android, iOS, desktop, and web developers fully customizable, animated tooltips through a single shared artifact.
read the full Balloon overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is manim or Balloon more popular?
manim has 94,584 GitHub stars and Balloon has 4,011. manim has the larger community by that measure.
Are manim and Balloon free?
Both are open source. manim is licensed under MIT and Balloon under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between manim and Balloon?
manim is written in Python and Balloon in Kotlin. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, manim or Balloon?
Choose manim if you want the larger community (94,584 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Balloon if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.