head to head · open source
Mermaid vs plot
Mermaid has 90,299 GitHub stars, 9,266 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. plot has 5,384 stars, 243 forks, 349 open issues and last shipped 17 days ago. Mermaid leads on adoption by 1,577% (90,299 vs 5,384 stars). Mermaid is written in TypeScript under MIT; plot is written in HTML under ISC. Mermaid has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, plot 5%. 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Mermaid | plot | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 5.4K |
| License | MIT | ISC |
| Written in | TypeScript | HTML |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.3K | ⑂ 243 |
| 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 plot if
- You want the plot feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the ISC license terms
- Your stack matches HTML
- You evaluated both and plot 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 plot
Observable Plot is a free, open source JavaScript library for visualizing tabular data, aimed at analysts and developers who need a concise, expressive API to accelerate exploratory data analysis.
More in Data & Analytics
Related comparisons
More Business Intelligence & Reporting projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Business Intelligence & Reporting field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mermaid or plot more popular?
Mermaid has 90,299 GitHub stars and plot has 5,384. Mermaid has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mermaid and plot free?
Both are open source. Mermaid is licensed under MIT and plot under ISC. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mermaid and plot?
Mermaid is written in TypeScript and plot in HTML. 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 plot?
Choose Mermaid if you want the larger community (90,299 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose plot if its feature set, stack or ISC licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.