head to head · open source
Mermaid vs ScottPlot
Mermaid has 90,299 GitHub stars, 9,266 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. ScottPlot has 6,750 stars, 1,011 forks, 242 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Mermaid leads on adoption by 1,238% (90,299 vs 6,750 stars). Mermaid is written in TypeScript under MIT; ScottPlot is written in C# under MIT. Mermaid has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, ScottPlot 15%. 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 | ScottPlot | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 6.8K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-08-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.3K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| 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 ScottPlot if
- You want the ScottPlot feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and ScottPlot 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 ScottPlot
ScottPlot is a free, open source interactive plotting library for .NET, written in C and released under the MIT license, aimed at .NET developers who need to render and explore large datasets as charts inside their own applications.
read the full ScottPlot overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mermaid or ScottPlot more popular?
Mermaid has 90,299 GitHub stars and ScottPlot has 6,750. Mermaid has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mermaid and ScottPlot free?
Both are open source. Mermaid is licensed under MIT and ScottPlot under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mermaid and ScottPlot?
Mermaid is written in TypeScript and ScottPlot in C#. 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 ScottPlot?
Choose Mermaid if you want the larger community (90,299 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ScottPlot if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.