head to head · open source
Mermaid vs sigma.js
Mermaid has 90,293 GitHub stars, 9,266 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. sigma.js has 12,167 stars, 1,620 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Mermaid leads on adoption by 642% (90,293 vs 12,167 stars). Mermaid is written in TypeScript under MIT; sigma.js is written in TypeScript under MIT. Mermaid has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, sigma.js 13%. sigma.js was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (javascript), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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 | sigma.js | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 12K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.3K | ⑂ 1.6K |
| 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 sigma.js if
- You want the sigma.js feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and sigma.js 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 sigma.js
Sigma.js is an open source JavaScript and TypeScript library for rendering graphs of thousands of nodes and edges in the browser using WebGL, released under the MIT licence and built on top of graphology.
read the full sigma.js overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mermaid or sigma.js more popular?
Mermaid has 90,293 GitHub stars and sigma.js has 12,167. Mermaid has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mermaid and sigma.js free?
Both are open source. Mermaid is licensed under MIT and sigma.js under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mermaid and sigma.js?
Mermaid is written in TypeScript and sigma.js 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 sigma.js?
Choose Mermaid if you want the larger community (90,293 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose sigma.js if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.