head to head · open source
Mermaid vs draw.io
Mermaid has 90,299 GitHub stars, 9,266 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. draw.io has 8,193 stars, 1,244 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Mermaid leads on adoption by 1,002% (90,299 vs 8,193 stars). Mermaid is written in TypeScript under MIT; draw.io is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. Mermaid has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, draw.io 15%. draw.io was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (javascript), 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
| Mermaid | draw.io | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 8.2K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.3K | ⑂ 1.2K |
| 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 draw.io if
- You want the draw.io feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and draw.io 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 draw.io
draw.io is a configurable, client side JavaScript diagramming and whiteboarding application, jointly owned and developed by draw.io Ltd (previously JGraph) and draw.io AG, intended for anyone who needs to draw diagrams and whiteboards in a browser or on the desktop without a login.
read the full draw.io overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mermaid or draw.io more popular?
Mermaid has 90,299 GitHub stars and draw.io has 8,193. Mermaid has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mermaid and draw.io free?
Both are open source. Mermaid is licensed under MIT and draw.io under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mermaid and draw.io?
Mermaid is written in TypeScript and draw.io in JavaScript. 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 draw.io?
Choose Mermaid if you want the larger community (90,299 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose draw.io if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.