head to head · open source
Mermaid vs G6
Mermaid has 90,981 GitHub stars, 9,444 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped yesterday. G6 has 12,371 stars, 1,652 forks, 333 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. Mermaid leads on adoption by 635% (90,981 vs 12,371 stars). Mermaid is written in TypeScript under MIT; G6 is written in TypeScript under MIT. Mermaid has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, G6 13%. 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 | G6 | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 91K | ★ 12K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.4K | ⑂ 1.7K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Mermaid if
- You weight community size — 91K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick G6 if
- You want the G6 feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and G6 fits your workflow better
About Mermaid
Mermaid Generate diagrams from Markdown like text. Live Editor! 📖 Documentation 🚀 Getting Started 🌐 CDN 🙌 Join Us 简体中文 Try Live Editor previews of future releases: Develop Next :trophy: Mermaid was nominated and won the JS Open Source Awards (2019) in the category "The most exciting use of technology"!!! Thanks to all involved, people committing pull requests, people answering questions! 🙏 Table of content Expand contents About Examples Release Related projects Contributors Security and safe diagrams Reporting vulnerabilities Appreciation About Mermaid is a JavaScript based diagramming and charting tool…
read the full Mermaid overview →
About G6
English 简体中文 G6: A Graph Visualization Framework in TypeScript Introduction • Examples • Quick Start • API G6 is a graph visualization engine. It provides basic capabilities for graph visualization and analysis such as drawing, layout, analysis, interaction, animation, themes, and plugins. With G6, users can quickly build their own graph visualization and analysis applications, making relational data simple, transparent, and meaningful. ✨ Features G6, as a professional graph visualization engine, boasts the following features: Rich Elements : It comes with a variety of built in node, edge, and Combo UI elements…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mermaid or G6 more popular?
Mermaid has 90,981 GitHub stars and G6 has 12,371. Mermaid has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mermaid and G6 free?
Both are open source. Mermaid is licensed under MIT and G6 under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mermaid and G6?
Mermaid is written in TypeScript and G6 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 G6?
Choose Mermaid if you want the larger community (90,981 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose G6 if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.