head to head · open source
plotly.js vs Evidence
plotly.js has 18,337 GitHub stars, 2,031 forks, 769 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Evidence has 6,943 stars, 418 forks, 37 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. plotly.js leads on adoption by 164% (18,337 vs 6,943 stars). plotly.js is written in JavaScript under MIT; Evidence is written in TypeScript under MIT. plotly.js has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Evidence 6%. Evidence was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (data-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.
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Side by side
| plotly.js | Evidence | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 6.9K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-16 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.0K | ⑂ 418 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick plotly.js if
- You weight community size — 18K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Evidence if
- You want the Evidence feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Evidence fits your workflow better
About plotly.js
Plotly.js is an open source JavaScript charting library that renders interactive figures in the browser and also powers the Python and R packages named plotly in those ecosystems.
read the full plotly.js overview →
About Evidence
Evidence is an open source, code based business intelligence tool for building reports and data visualizations. It lives in the Data & Analytics ecosystem, specifically Business Intelligence and Reporting, and is written in TypeScript under the MIT license. Reports are authored in SQL and markdown rather than assembled through drag and drop interfaces, and the project describes itself as an agent ready tool for creating reports from data. The repository carries 6,936 stars and 417 forks, with 37 open issues at the time of writing.
read the full Evidence overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is plotly.js or Evidence more popular?
plotly.js has 18,337 GitHub stars and Evidence has 6,943. plotly.js has the larger community by that measure.
Are plotly.js and Evidence free?
Both are open source. plotly.js is licensed under MIT and Evidence under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between plotly.js and Evidence?
plotly.js is written in JavaScript and Evidence 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, plotly.js or Evidence?
Choose plotly.js if you want the larger community (18,337 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Evidence if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.