Overview

Recharts

Stacks232

Followers258

Votes36

GitHub Stars26.2K

Forks1.8K

JFreeChart

Stacks47

Followers23

Votes2

GitHub Stars1.3K

Forks569

JFreeChart vs Recharts: What are the differences?

## Introduction

JFreeChart and Recharts are two popular libraries used for creating interactive and visually appealing charts in web applications. While both serve the same purpose, they have distinct differences that set them apart.

1. **Technology Stack**: JFreeChart is a Java-based library that generates static charts on the server-side, requiring the use of a Java application server. On the other hand, Recharts is a JavaScript library that creates dynamic and interactive charts on the client-side, eliminating the need for a server-side application.

2. **Community Support**: JFreeChart has been around since 2000 and has a long-established community with extensive documentation and resources available. In contrast, Recharts is relatively newer but has gained popularity due to its simplicity, flexibility, and strong support from the open-source community.

3. **Customization Options**: JFreeChart provides a wide range of customization options for charts, allowing users to fine-tune every aspect of the chart's appearance. Recharts, on the other hand, offers a more limited set of customization options but focuses on providing a user-friendly interface for creating visually appealing charts quickly.

4. **Compatibility**: JFreeChart is primarily designed for desktop applications and may have limitations when it comes to responsive design and mobile compatibility. In contrast, Recharts is a web-based library optimized for modern browsers, responsive design, and seamless integration with web applications.

5. **Dynamic Data Handling**: While both libraries support static data visualization, Recharts excels in handling dynamic data and real-time updates, making it ideal for applications that require live data visualizations. JFreeChart, on the other hand, is better suited for traditional desktop applications with static datasets.

6. **Ease of Use**: Recharts is known for its intuitive API, extensive documentation, and user-friendly components that make chart creation effortless. In comparison, JFreeChart may have a steeper learning curve due to its Java-based architecture and complex customization options.

In Summary, JFreeChart and Recharts offer distinct advantages in different scenarios, with JFreeChart catering to server-side Java applications and extensive customization options, while Recharts excels in web-based applications with dynamic data handling and user-friendly design principles.

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Advice on Recharts, JFreeChart

Shaik

Feb 18, 2020

Needs advice

I have used highcharts and it is pretty awesome for my previous project. now as I am about to start my new project I want to use other charting libraries such as recharts, chart js, Nivo, d3 js.... my upcoming project might use react js as front end and laravel as a backend technology. the project would be of hotel management type. please suggest me the best charts to use

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Detailed Comparison

Recharts	JFreeChart
Quickly build your charts with decoupled, reusable React components. Built on top of SVG elements with a lightweight dependency on D3 submodules.	It is a free Java chart library that makes it easy for developers to display professional quality charts in their applications. It has a consistent and well-documented API, supporting a wide range of chart types.
-	Flexible design that is easy to extend, and targets both server-side and client-side applications; Support for many output types, including Swing and JavaFX components, image files (including PNG and JPEG), and vector graphics file formats (including PDF, EPS and SVG); open source or, more specifically, free software
Statistics
GitHub Stars 26.2K	GitHub Stars 1.3K
GitHub Forks 1.8K	GitHub Forks 569
Stacks 232	Stacks 47
Followers 258	Followers 23
Votes 36	Votes 2
Pros & Cons
Pros 11 Very intuitive API 8 Built for React, from scratch 7 Responsive 5 Composable chart elements 3 Easy to use Cons 2 Not considered time series charts	Pros 1 Very, very customizable 1 Easy to use 0 Easy to user Cons 1 Lots of code
Integrations
React D3.js	Java JavaFX

What are some alternatives to Recharts, JFreeChart?

D3.js

It is a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data. Emphasises on web standards gives you the full capabilities of modern browsers without tying yourself to a proprietary framework.

Highcharts

Highcharts currently supports line, spline, area, areaspline, column, bar, pie, scatter, angular gauges, arearange, areasplinerange, columnrange, bubble, box plot, error bars, funnel, waterfall and polar chart types.

Plotly.js

It 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). It 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.

Chart.js

Visualize your data in 6 different ways. Each of them animated, with a load of customisation options and interactivity extensions.

ECharts

It is an open source visualization library implemented in JavaScript, runs smoothly on PCs and mobile devices, and is compatible with most current browsers.

ZingChart

The most feature-rich, fully customizable JavaScript charting library available used by start-ups and the Fortune 100 alike.

amCharts

amCharts is an advanced charting library that will suit any data visualization need. Our charting solution include Column, Bar, Line, Area, Step, Step without risers, Smoothed line, Candlestick, OHLC, Pie/Donut, Radar/ Polar, XY/Scatter/Bubble, Bullet, Funnel/Pyramid charts as well as Gauges.

CanvasJS

Lightweight, Beautiful & Responsive Charts that make your dashboards fly even with millions of data points! Self-Hosted, Secure & Scalable charts that render across devices.

AnyChart

AnyChart is a flexible JavaScript (HTML5) based solution that allows you to create interactive and great looking charts. It is a cross-browser and cross-platform charting solution intended for everybody who deals with creation of dashboard, reporting, analytics, statistical, financial or any other data visualization solutions.