head to head · open source
manim vs thorvg
manim has 95,631 GitHub stars, 7,832 forks, 500 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. thorvg has 1,891 stars, 257 forks, 206 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. manim leads on adoption by 4,957% (95,631 vs 1,891 stars). manim is written in Python under MIT; thorvg is written in C++ under MIT. manim has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, thorvg 14%. thorvg 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 | thorvg | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 96K | ★ 1.9K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-09 | 2026-10-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.8K | ⑂ 257 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick manim if
- You weight community size — 96K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick thorvg if
- You want the thorvg feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and thorvg fits your workflow better
About manim
Manim is an engine for precise programmatic animations, designed for creating explanatory math videos. Note, there are two versions of manim. This repository began as a personal project by the author of 3Blue1Brown for the purpose of animating those videos, with video specific code available here. In 2020 a group of developers forked it into what is now the community edition, with a goal of being more stable, better tested, quicker to respond to community contributions, and all around friendlier to get started with. See this page for more details. Installation [!Warning] WARNING: These instructions are for…
read the full manim overview →
About thorvg
ThorVG Thor Vector Graphics is a production ready vector graphics engine designed for creating interactive apps and creative tools . It combines high performance with lightweight efficiency , as Thor embodies a dual meaning—symbolizing both immense strength and lightning fast agility. Embracing the philosophy of simplicity leads to reliability, the ThorVG project provides easy, user friendly interfaces while maintaining a compact footprint and minimal overhead . The following primitives are supported by ThorVG: Lines & Shapes : rectangles, circles, paths, and arbitrary vector geometry Filling : solid colors /…
read the full thorvg overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is manim or thorvg more popular?
manim has 95,631 GitHub stars and thorvg has 1,891. manim has the larger community by that measure.
Are manim and thorvg free?
Both are open source. manim is licensed under MIT and thorvg under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between manim and thorvg?
manim is written in Python and thorvg 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, manim or thorvg?
Choose manim if you want the larger community (95,631 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose thorvg if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.