head to head · open source
Mermaid vs semiotic
Mermaid has 90,981 GitHub stars, 9,444 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped yesterday. semiotic has 2,717 stars, 144 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Mermaid leads on adoption by 3,249% (90,981 vs 2,717 stars). Mermaid is written in TypeScript under MIT; semiotic is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Mermaid has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, semiotic 5%. semiotic 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 | semiotic | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 91K | ★ 2.7K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.4K | ⑂ 144 |
| 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 semiotic if
- You want the semiotic feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and semiotic 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 semiotic
A React data visualization library designed for AI assisted development. Start with a small chart component. Add network graphs, streaming data and coordinated views when the task needs them. Structured schemas, diagnostics and rendering evidence help coding assistants implement, check and repair chart configurations. Work through a complete task: check category totals, maintain a live chart, or correct a published chart. The source task packets identify their build and evidence scope; source availability does not establish installed or deployed parity. What's New in 3.10.1 3.10.1 adds Network Atlas recipes and…
read the full semiotic overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mermaid or semiotic more popular?
Mermaid has 90,981 GitHub stars and semiotic has 2,717. Mermaid has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mermaid and semiotic free?
Both are open source. Mermaid is licensed under MIT and semiotic under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mermaid and semiotic?
Mermaid is written in TypeScript and semiotic 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 semiotic?
Choose Mermaid if you want the larger community (90,981 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose semiotic if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.