head to head · open source
Mermaid vs ara
Mermaid has 90,293 GitHub stars, 9,266 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. ara has 2,020 stars, 180 forks, 133 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Mermaid leads on adoption by 4,370% (90,293 vs 2,020 stars). Mermaid is written in TypeScript under MIT; ara is written in Python under GPL-3.0. Mermaid has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, ara 9%. Mermaid was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| Mermaid | ara | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 2.0K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-07-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.3K | ⑂ 180 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Mermaid if
- You weight community size — 90K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ara if
- You want the ara feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and ara fits your workflow better
About Mermaid
Mermaid is a JavaScript based diagramming tool that renders diagrams from Markdown like text definitions. It lives in the JavaScript/TypeScript ecosystem and operates both in the browser and in Node.js environments. The project’s core purpose is to eliminate the gap between software development and documentation by letting developers write diagrams alongside code, avoiding the rot and overhead of manual diagram maintenance.
read the full Mermaid overview →
About ara
ARA Records Ansible is a Python project that records Ansible runs and presents results for reporting and troubleshooting. It is a recursive acronym focused on simplicity, and it lives in the Ansible ecosystem while using Django, Django REST Framework, a web interface, and an API.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mermaid or ara more popular?
Mermaid has 90,293 GitHub stars and ara has 2,020. Mermaid has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mermaid and ara free?
Both are open source. Mermaid is licensed under MIT and ara under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mermaid and ara?
Mermaid is written in TypeScript and ara in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Mermaid or ara?
Choose Mermaid if you want the larger community (90,293 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ara if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.