head to head · open source
Mermaid vs Evidence
Mermaid has 90,293 GitHub stars, 9,266 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Evidence has 6,943 stars, 418 forks, 37 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Mermaid leads on adoption by 1,200% (90,293 vs 6,943 stars). Mermaid is written in TypeScript under MIT; Evidence is written in TypeScript under MIT. Mermaid has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Evidence 6%. Evidence 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 | Evidence | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 6.9K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.3K | ⑂ 418 |
| 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 Evidence if
- You want the Evidence feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Evidence 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 Evidence
Evidence is an open source, code based business intelligence tool for building reports and data visualizations. It lives in the Data & Analytics ecosystem, specifically Business Intelligence and Reporting, and is written in TypeScript under the MIT license. Reports are authored in SQL and markdown rather than assembled through drag and drop interfaces, and the project describes itself as an agent ready tool for creating reports from data. The repository carries 6,936 stars and 417 forks, with 37 open issues at the time of writing.
read the full Evidence overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mermaid or Evidence more popular?
Mermaid has 90,293 GitHub stars and Evidence has 6,943. Mermaid has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mermaid and Evidence free?
Both are open source. Mermaid is licensed under MIT and Evidence under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mermaid and Evidence?
Mermaid is written in TypeScript and Evidence 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 Evidence?
Choose Mermaid if you want the larger community (90,293 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Evidence if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.