head to head · open source
echarts vs plotly.js
echarts has 67,666 GitHub stars, 19,970 forks, 1,501 open issues and last shipped 21 days ago. plotly.js has 18,378 stars, 2,074 forks, 769 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. echarts leads on adoption by 268% (67,666 vs 18,378 stars). echarts is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; plotly.js is written in JavaScript under MIT. echarts has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, plotly.js 11%. plotly.js was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (charting-library, charts, data-visualization, visualization), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| echarts | plotly.js | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 68K | ★ 18K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-13 | 2026-10-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 20K | ⑂ 2.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick echarts if
- You weight community size — 68K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick plotly.js if
- You want the plotly.js feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and plotly.js fits your workflow better
About echarts
Apache ECharts Apache ECharts is a free, powerful charting and visualization library offering easy ways to add intuitive, interactive, and highly customizable charts to your commercial products. It is written in pure JavaScript and based on zrender , which is a whole new lightweight canvas library. 中文官网 ENGLISH HOMEPAGE Get Apache ECharts You may choose one of the following methods: + Download from the official website + npm install echarts save + CDN: jsDelivr CDN Docs + Get Started + API + Option Manual + Examples Get Help + GitHub Issues for bug report and feature requests + Email dev@echarts.apache.org for…
read the full echarts overview →
About plotly.js
Plotly.js is a standalone JavaScript data visualization library, and it also powers the Python and R modules named plotly in those respective ecosystems (referred to as Plotly.py and Plotly.R). Plotly.js can be used to produce dozens of chart types and visualizations, including statistical charts, 3D graphs, scientific charts, SVG and tile maps, financial charts and more. Contact us for Plotly.js consulting, dashboard development, application integration, and feature additions. Table of contents Load as a node module Load via script tag Bundles Alternative ways to load and build plotly.js Documentation Bugs and…
read the full plotly.js overview →
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 echarts or plotly.js more popular?
echarts has 67,666 GitHub stars and plotly.js has 18,378. echarts has the larger community by that measure.
Are echarts and plotly.js free?
Both are open source. echarts is licensed under Apache-2.0 and plotly.js under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between echarts and plotly.js?
echarts is written in TypeScript and plotly.js in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, echarts or plotly.js?
Choose echarts if you want the larger community (67,666 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose plotly.js if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.