head to head · open source
Mermaid vs jxls
Mermaid has 90,299 GitHub stars, 9,266 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. jxls has 531 stars, 103 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. Mermaid leads on adoption by 16,905% (90,299 vs 531 stars). Mermaid is written in TypeScript under MIT; jxls is written in Java under Apache-2.0. Mermaid has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, jxls 19%. 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 | jxls | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 531 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.3K | ⑂ 103 |
| 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 jxls if
- You want the jxls feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and jxls 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 jxls
Jxls Overview Jxls is a small and simple to use Java library for Excel report generation using Excel template files. Jxls abstracts Excel generation from underlying Java to Excel low level processing library. Jxls uses a special markup in Excel templates to define output formatting and data layout. How to use Maven Gradle See Getting started guide. Contributing See Contributing guide.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mermaid or jxls more popular?
Mermaid has 90,299 GitHub stars and jxls has 531. Mermaid has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mermaid and jxls free?
Both are open source. Mermaid is licensed under MIT and jxls under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mermaid and jxls?
Mermaid is written in TypeScript and jxls 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 jxls?
Choose Mermaid if you want the larger community (90,299 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose jxls if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.