head to head · open source
Mermaid vs unovis
Mermaid has 90,299 GitHub stars, 9,266 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. unovis has 2,852 stars, 70 forks, 100 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Mermaid leads on adoption by 3,066% (90,299 vs 2,852 stars). Mermaid is written in TypeScript under MIT; unovis is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Mermaid has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, unovis 2%. unovis 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 | unovis | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 2.9K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.3K | ⑂ 70 |
| 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 unovis if
- You want the unovis 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 unovis 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 unovis
Unovis is a modular, tree shakable data visualization framework for React, Angular, Svelte, Vue, Solid and vanilla TypeScript or JavaScript, built for front end developers who need charts, maps and network graphs rendered inside their own applications.
read the full unovis overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mermaid or unovis more popular?
Mermaid has 90,299 GitHub stars and unovis has 2,852. Mermaid has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mermaid and unovis free?
Both are open source. Mermaid is licensed under MIT and unovis under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mermaid and unovis?
Mermaid is written in TypeScript and unovis 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 unovis?
Choose Mermaid if you want the larger community (90,299 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose unovis if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.