recharts vs chart.js vs d3 vs apexcharts vs victory vs plotly.js vs @visx/xychart
JavaScript Charting Libraries Comparison
1 Year
rechartschart.jsd3apexchartsvictoryplotly.js@visx/xychartSimilar Packages:
What's JavaScript Charting Libraries?

JavaScript charting libraries are tools that enable developers to create interactive and visually appealing charts and graphs for web applications. These libraries provide various functionalities, including data visualization, customization options, and support for different chart types. They help in transforming raw data into meaningful insights, making it easier for users to understand complex information through visual representation. Each library has its unique strengths and use cases, catering to different development needs and preferences.

Package Weekly Downloads Trend
Github Stars Ranking
Stat Detail
Package
Downloads
Stars
Size
Issues
Publish
License
recharts6,867,37825,2514.64 MB456a month agoMIT
chart.js4,459,82565,9734.96 MB483a month agoMIT
d33,829,671110,732871 kB21a year agoISC
apexcharts1,028,44014,7744.95 MB319a month agoMIT
victory258,40111,1562.28 MB915 months agoMIT
plotly.js214,83117,59297.2 MB7113 months agoMIT
@visx/xychart162,04220,044630 kB1647 months agoMIT
Feature Comparison: recharts vs chart.js vs d3 vs apexcharts vs victory vs plotly.js vs @visx/xychart

Customization

  • recharts:

    Recharts is built on React components, making it easy to customize charts using props. It supports responsive design and allows for straightforward adjustments to chart elements, making it a good choice for React developers.

  • chart.js:

    Chart.js is known for its simplicity and ease of customization. Developers can easily modify chart properties like colors, labels, and tooltips through a straightforward configuration object, making it accessible for quick visualizations.

  • d3:

    D3.js excels in customization, allowing developers to manipulate every aspect of the visualization. It provides a powerful data-driven approach, enabling the creation of unique and complex visualizations tailored to specific requirements.

  • apexcharts:

    ApexCharts provides a user-friendly API with built-in options for customization, including themes, colors, and tooltips. While it allows for some level of customization, it is primarily designed for quick setup and ease of use rather than deep customization.

  • victory:

    Victory provides a modular approach to customization, allowing developers to create reusable components. It supports theming and styling through props, making it easy to maintain a consistent look across different charts.

  • plotly.js:

    Plotly.js offers a good balance of customization and ease of use. It allows users to customize charts through a declarative syntax while providing built-in interactivity features, making it suitable for both simple and complex visualizations.

  • @visx/xychart:

    @visx/xychart offers extensive customization options, allowing developers to create tailored visualizations by composing various components. It provides a low-level API that enables fine-tuning of styles, scales, and interactions, making it suitable for complex data visualizations.

Learning Curve

  • recharts:

    Recharts is designed for React developers, making it easy to learn for those already familiar with React. Its component-based architecture simplifies the process of creating and customizing charts.

  • chart.js:

    Chart.js is beginner-friendly, with a simple API that allows for quick implementation of basic charts. It is an excellent choice for those new to data visualization and JavaScript libraries.

  • d3:

    D3.js has a steep learning curve due to its complex concepts and extensive capabilities. It requires a solid understanding of JavaScript and data manipulation, making it more suitable for experienced developers looking for advanced visualization techniques.

  • apexcharts:

    ApexCharts has a gentle learning curve, making it accessible for beginners. Its straightforward API and comprehensive documentation allow developers to quickly get started with creating charts without extensive prior knowledge.

  • victory:

    Victory has a moderate learning curve, especially for those familiar with React. Its modular design allows for easy understanding and implementation, but new users may need time to explore its full potential.

  • plotly.js:

    Plotly.js has a moderate learning curve, as it combines ease of use with advanced features. Developers can quickly create basic charts but may need to invest time to fully leverage its capabilities for complex visualizations.

  • @visx/xychart:

    @visx/xychart has a moderate learning curve due to its modular nature and the need for understanding React concepts. Developers familiar with React will find it easier to grasp, but those new to React may face challenges initially.

Interactivity

  • recharts:

    Recharts supports basic interactivity, including tooltips and click events. Its integration with React makes it easy to manage state and interactions, providing a responsive user experience.

  • chart.js:

    Chart.js includes basic interactivity features like tooltips and hover effects. While it provides some interactive capabilities, it may require additional coding for more complex interactions.

  • d3:

    D3.js excels in interactivity, allowing developers to create highly interactive visualizations through event handling and transitions. It provides the tools to implement custom interactions tailored to specific data sets.

  • apexcharts:

    ApexCharts offers built-in interactivity features such as tooltips, zooming, and click events. It is designed for creating engaging charts that respond to user interactions without requiring extensive coding.

  • victory:

    Victory offers a range of interactive features, including tooltips and animations. It is designed to create engaging visualizations that respond to user interactions, making it suitable for dynamic applications.

  • plotly.js:

    Plotly.js is known for its rich interactivity, supporting features like zooming, panning, and hover effects. It is ideal for applications that require detailed data exploration and user engagement.

  • @visx/xychart:

    @visx/xychart provides a high level of interactivity, allowing developers to implement custom interactions and animations. It supports features like tooltips, zooming, and panning, making it suitable for dynamic visualizations.

Performance

  • recharts:

    Recharts is built on React, ensuring good performance for moderate datasets. It is optimized for rendering and updates, making it suitable for applications that require real-time data visualization.

  • chart.js:

    Chart.js is lightweight and performs efficiently for basic charting needs. However, performance may decline with large datasets or complex visualizations, requiring optimization techniques for better results.

  • d3:

    D3.js can handle large datasets efficiently, but performance largely depends on how developers implement visualizations. Optimizing data binding and rendering techniques is crucial for maintaining performance with complex charts.

  • apexcharts:

    ApexCharts is lightweight and performs well for most use cases. It is designed to handle a reasonable amount of data without significant performance degradation, making it suitable for dashboards and real-time applications.

  • victory:

    Victory is designed for performance, especially in React applications. It efficiently manages rendering and updates, making it a good choice for applications that require responsive and interactive charts.

  • plotly.js:

    Plotly.js performs well with moderate datasets and provides smooth interactivity. However, performance may vary with very large datasets, requiring careful management of data and rendering processes.

  • @visx/xychart:

    @visx/xychart is optimized for performance, leveraging React's rendering capabilities to efficiently update and render charts. Its modular structure allows developers to include only the components they need, reducing overhead.

How to Choose: recharts vs chart.js vs d3 vs apexcharts vs victory vs plotly.js vs @visx/xychart
  • recharts:

    Opt for Recharts if you are working with React and need a library that is easy to integrate and customize. It is built on React components and is suitable for developers who want a straightforward way to create charts without delving into complex configurations.

  • chart.js:

    Opt for Chart.js if you need a simple and lightweight library for creating responsive charts. It is perfect for projects that require basic charting capabilities with minimal setup and configuration, making it an excellent choice for beginners.

  • d3:

    Choose D3.js for its unparalleled flexibility and power in data visualization. It is best suited for developers who require fine-grained control over the rendering and want to create complex, custom visualizations. D3 is ideal for projects that demand high customization and interactivity.

  • apexcharts:

    Select ApexCharts for its ease of use and out-of-the-box features. It is suitable for developers who need to create interactive charts quickly without extensive customization. It supports a variety of chart types and is great for dashboards and data-driven applications.

  • victory:

    Choose Victory if you are looking for a modular and flexible charting library that works well with React and React Native. It is ideal for developers who want to create a variety of chart types with a consistent API and responsive design.

  • plotly.js:

    Select Plotly.js if you need a library that supports both 2D and 3D visualizations with advanced features like zooming, panning, and hover effects. It is great for scientific and analytical applications where interactivity and detailed data representation are crucial.

  • @visx/xychart:

    Choose @visx/xychart if you are looking for a highly customizable and modular charting solution that integrates seamlessly with React applications. It is ideal for developers who want to build complex visualizations while maintaining control over the rendering process.

README for recharts

Recharts

storybook Build Status Coverage Status npm version npm downloads MIT License

Introduction

Recharts is a Redefined chart library built with React and D3.

The main purpose of this library is to help you to write charts in React applications without any pain. Main principles of Recharts are:

  1. Simply deploy with React components.
  2. Native SVG support, lightweight depending only on some D3 submodules.
  3. Declarative components, components of charts are purely presentational.

Documentation at recharts.org and our storybook (WIP)

Please see the wiki for FAQ.

All development is done on the master branch. The current latest release and storybook documentation reflects what is on the release branch.

Examples

<LineChart width={400} height={400} data={data} margin={{ top: 5, right: 20, left: 10, bottom: 5 }}>
  <XAxis dataKey="name" />
  <Tooltip />
  <CartesianGrid stroke="#f5f5f5" />
  <Line type="monotone" dataKey="uv" stroke="#ff7300" yAxisId={0} />
  <Line type="monotone" dataKey="pv" stroke="#387908" yAxisId={1} />
</LineChart>

All the components of Recharts are clearly separated. The lineChart is composed of x axis, tooltip, grid, and line items, and each of them is an independent React Component. The clear separation and composition of components is one of the principle Recharts follows.

Installation

npm

NPM is the easiest and fastest way to get started using Recharts. It is also the recommended installation method when building single-page applications (SPAs). It pairs nicely with a CommonJS module bundler such as Webpack.

# latest stable
$ npm install recharts

umd

The UMD build is also available on unpkg.com:

<script src="https://unpkg.com/react/umd/react.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://unpkg.com/react-dom/umd/react-dom.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://unpkg.com/recharts/umd/Recharts.min.js"></script>

Then you can find the library on window.Recharts.

dev build

$ git clone https://github.com/recharts/recharts.git
$ cd recharts
$ npm install
$ npm run build

Demo

To examine the demos in your local build, execute:

$ npm run[-script] demo

and then browse to http://localhost:3000.

Storybook

We are in the process of unifying documentation and examples in storybook. To run it locally, execute

$ npm run[-script] storybook

and then browse to http://localhost:6006.

Releases

Releases are automated via GH Actions - when a new release is created in GH, CI will trigger that:

  1. Runs a build
  2. Runs tests
  3. Runs npm publish

Version increments and tagging are not automated at this time.

Release testing

Until we can automate more, it should be preferred to test as close to the results of npm publish as we possibly can. This ensures we don't publish unintended breaking changes. One way to do that is using yalc - npm i -g yalc.

  1. Make your changes in recharts
  2. yalc publish in recharts
  3. yalc add recharts in your test package (ex: in a vite or webpack reach app with recharts installed, imported, and your recent changes used)
  4. npm install
  5. Test a local run, a build, etc.

Module Formats

  • babel-plugin-recharts A simple transform to cherry-pick Recharts modules so you don’t have to. Note: this plugin is out of date and may not work with 2.x

Thanks

Chromatic

Thanks to Chromatic for providing the visual testing platform that helps us review UI changes and catch visual regressions.

License

MIT

Copyright (c) 2015-2023 Recharts Group.