head to head · open source
Mermaid vs echarts
Mermaid has 90,293 GitHub stars, 9,266 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. echarts has 67,345 stars, 19,820 forks, 1,501 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Mermaid leads on adoption by 34% (90,293 vs 67,345 stars). Mermaid is written in TypeScript under MIT; echarts is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Mermaid has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, echarts 29%. echarts 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 | echarts | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 67K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.3K | ⑂ 20K |
| 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 echarts if
- You want the echarts feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and echarts 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 echarts
Apache ECharts is a free, interactive charting and data visualization library that runs in the browser. It is written in pure JavaScript and built on top of zrender, a lightweight canvas library that handles rendering and interaction under the hood. The project lives in the JavaScript and TypeScript ecosystem, is distributed through npm as the echarts package, and is developed under the Apache Software Foundation with an Apache 2.0 license. Its source is written in TypeScript, and the repository has been maintained for more than a decade.
read the full echarts overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mermaid or echarts more popular?
Mermaid has 90,293 GitHub stars and echarts has 67,345. Mermaid has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mermaid and echarts free?
Both are open source. Mermaid is licensed under MIT and echarts under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mermaid and echarts?
Mermaid is written in TypeScript and echarts 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, Mermaid or echarts?
Choose Mermaid if you want the larger community (90,293 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose echarts if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.