head to head · open source
Mermaid vs jasperreports
Mermaid has 90,293 GitHub stars, 9,266 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. jasperreports has 1,363 stars, 464 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Mermaid leads on adoption by 6,525% (90,293 vs 1,363 stars). Mermaid is written in TypeScript under MIT; jasperreports is written in Java under LGPL-3.0. Mermaid has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, jasperreports 34%. jasperreports 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 | jasperreports | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | MIT | LGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.3K | ⑂ 464 |
| 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 jasperreports if
- You want the jasperreports feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and jasperreports 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 jasperreports
JasperReports Library is an open source Java reporting library distributed under the LGPL 3.0 license. It lives in the Java ecosystem and the business intelligence and reporting category. It provides a reporting engine that consumes data from various data sources and produces formatted documents for viewing, printing, or export.
read the full jasperreports overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mermaid or jasperreports more popular?
Mermaid has 90,293 GitHub stars and jasperreports has 1,363. Mermaid has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mermaid and jasperreports free?
Both are open source. Mermaid is licensed under MIT and jasperreports under LGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mermaid and jasperreports?
Mermaid is written in TypeScript and jasperreports in Java. 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 jasperreports?
Choose Mermaid if you want the larger community (90,293 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose jasperreports if its feature set, stack or LGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.