What is Plotly.js and what are its top alternatives?
Plotly.js is a JavaScript graphing library that allows users to create interactive, web-based plots and charts. The key features of Plotly.js include support for a wide range of chart types, interactivity with hover, zoom, and pan functionalities, and the ability to export plots in various formats. However, some limitations of Plotly.js include a steep learning curve for beginners and potential performance issues with large datasets.
- D3.js: D3.js is a powerful JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data. Key features include data-driven DOM manipulation, creating complex and customizable visualizations, and extensive community support. Pros of using D3.js include its flexibility and ability to create unique visualizations, while cons include a steeper learning curve compared to other libraries.
- Highcharts: Highcharts is a JavaScript charting library that offers a wide range of chart types and interactive features. Key features include responsive design, easily customizable charts, and extensive documentation. Pros of Highcharts include its user-friendly interface and seamless integration with various platforms, while cons include its licensing fees for commercial use.
- Chart.js: Chart.js is a simple and lightweight JavaScript charting library that allows users to create responsive and visually appealing charts. Key features include support for various chart types, easy customization options, and community plugins. Pros of Chart.js include its simplicity and ease of use, while cons include limited features compared to more advanced libraries.
- Google Charts: Google Charts is a powerful tool for creating various types of interactive charts and graphs using a simple JavaScript API. Key features include support for a wide range of chart types, real-time data updates, and compatibility with all modern browsers. Pros of Google Charts include its seamless integration with Google products and free usage, while cons include less customization options compared to other libraries.
- NVD3: NVD3 is built on top of D3.js and provides reusable chart components for creating interactive visualizations. Key features include responsive design, easy integration with D3.js, and a rich set of chart types. Pros of NVD3 include its high-quality visualizations and ease of use with D3.js, while cons include fewer customization options compared to other libraries.
- ECharts: ECharts is a powerful charting and visualization library written in JavaScript that offers interactive and highly customizable charts. Key features include support for a wide range of visualizations, animation effects, and compatibility with different devices. Pros of ECharts include its excellent performance and extensive documentation, while cons include a steeper learning curve for beginners.
- ApexCharts: ApexCharts is a modern JavaScript charting library that offers a flexible and feature-rich solution for creating interactive charts. Key features include support for dynamic, real-time updates, numerous chart types, and customizable themes. Pros of ApexCharts include its ease of use and extensive customization options, while cons include occasional bugs and limitations in certain chart functionalities.
- FusionCharts: FusionCharts is a comprehensive JavaScript charting library that provides a wide range of interactive charts and maps. Key features include support for advanced chart types, extensive customization options, and compatibility with all major web technologies. Pros of FusionCharts include its rich set of features and great performance, while cons include its pricing model for commercial use.
- Rickshaw: Rickshaw is a JavaScript toolkit for creating interactive real-time graphs with a simple and modular structure. Key features include support for streaming data, customizable visuals, and smooth animations. Pros of Rickshaw include its lightweight design and seamless integration with various frameworks, while cons include a lack of updates and limited community support.
- Vega-Lite: Vega-Lite is a high-level grammar of interactive graphics that simplifies the process of creating complex visualizations. Key features include a concise and declarative JSON syntax, automatic layout optimization, and compatibility with multiple data formats. Pros of Vega-Lite include its ease of use and scalability for large datasets, while cons include limited support for highly customized visualizations compared to other libraries.
Top Alternatives to Plotly.js
- 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. ...
- Bokeh
Bokeh is an interactive visualization library for modern web browsers. It provides elegant, concise construction of versatile graphics, and affords high-performance interactivity over large or streaming datasets. ...
- Marvel
A super simple tool that turns any image (including PSDs) or sketch into interactive prototypes for any device. Powered by Dropbox. ...
- Matplotlib
It is a Python 2D plotting library which produces publication quality figures in a variety of hardcopy formats and interactive environments across platforms. It can be used in Python scripts, the Python and IPython shells, the Jupyter notebook, web application servers, and four graphical user interface toolkits. ...
- Storyline
Storyline makes it easy to create, test & publish Alexa skills in minutes with a visual interface and pre-built templates. ...
- 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. ...
- Tableau
Tableau can help anyone see and understand their data. Connect to almost any database, drag and drop to create visualizations, and share with a click. ...
- Dash
Dash is an API Documentation Browser and Code Snippet Manager. Dash stores snippets of code and instantly searches offline documentation sets for 150+ APIs. You can even generate your own docsets or request docsets to be included. ...
Plotly.js alternatives & related posts
Highcharts
- Low learning curve and powerful34
- Multiple chart types such as pie, bar, line and others17
- Responsive charts13
- Handles everything you throw at it9
- Extremely easy-to-parse documentation8
- Built-in export chart as-is to image file5
- Easy to customize color scheme and palettes5
- Export on server side, can be used in email1
- Expensive9
related Highcharts posts
Here is my stack on #Visualization. @FusionCharts and Highcharts are easy to use but only free for non-commercial. Chart.js and Plotly are two lovely tools for commercial use under the MIT license. And D3.js would be my last choice only if a complex customized plot is needed.
- Beautiful Interactive charts in seconds12
related Bokeh posts
Hi - I am looking to develop an app accessed by a browser that will display interactive networks (including adding or deleting nodes, edges, labels (or changing labels) based on user input. Look to use Django at the backend. Also need to manage graph versions if one person makes a graph change while another person is looking at it. Mainly tree networks for starters anyway. I probably will use the Networkx package. Not sure what the pros and cons are using Bokeh vs Matplotlib. I would be grateful for any comments or suggestions. Thanks.
- Nice UI15
- Free14
- Easy animations7
- Iphone app5
- Dropbox integration5
related Marvel posts
- The standard Swiss Army Knife of plotting11
- Lots of code5
related Matplotlib posts
Hi - I am looking to develop an app accessed by a browser that will display interactive networks (including adding or deleting nodes, edges, labels (or changing labels) based on user input. Look to use Django at the backend. Also need to manage graph versions if one person makes a graph change while another person is looking at it. Mainly tree networks for starters anyway. I probably will use the Networkx package. Not sure what the pros and cons are using Bokeh vs Matplotlib. I would be grateful for any comments or suggestions. Thanks.
related Storyline posts
- Beautiful visualizations195
- Svg103
- Data-driven92
- Large set of examples81
- Data-driven documents61
- Visualization components24
- Transitions20
- Dynamic properties18
- Plugins16
- Transformation11
- Makes data interactive7
- Open Source4
- Enter and Exit4
- Components4
- Exhaustive3
- Backed by the new york times3
- Easy and beautiful2
- Highly customizable1
- Awesome Community Support1
- Simple elegance1
- Templates, force template1
- Angular 41
- Beginners cant understand at all11
- Complex syntax6
related D3.js posts
We use Plotly (just their open source stuff) for Zulip's user-facing and admin-facing statistics graphs because it's a reasonably well-designed JavaScript graphing library.
If you've tried using D3.js, it's a pretty poor developer experience, and that translates to spending a bunch of time getting the graphs one wants even for things that are conceptually pretty basic. Plotly isn't amazing (it's decent), but it's way better than than D3 unless you have very specialized needs.
Hi,
I am looking at integrating a charting library in my React frontend that allows me to create appealing and interactive charts. I have basic familiarity with ApexCharts with React but have also read about D3.js charts and it seems a much more involved integration. Can someone please share their experience across the two libraries on the following dimensions:
- Amount of work needed for integration
- Amount of work or ease for creating new charts in either of the libraries.
Regards
Amit
- Capable of visualising billions of rows6
- Intuitive and easy to learn1
- Responsive1
- Very expensive for small companies3
related Tableau posts
Looking for the best analytics software for a medium-large-sized firm. We currently use a Microsoft SQL Server database that is analyzed in Tableau desktop/published to Tableau online for users to access dashboards. Is it worth the cost savings/time to switch over to using SSRS or Power BI? Does anyone have experience migrating from Tableau to SSRS /or Power BI? Our other option is to consider using Tableau on-premises instead of online. Using custom SQL with over 3 million rows really decreases performances and results in processing times that greatly exceed our typical experience. Thanks.
Hello everyone,
My team and I are currently in the process of selecting a Business Intelligence (BI) tool for our actively developing company, which has over 500 employees. We are considering open-source options.
We are keen to connect with a Head of Analytics or BI Analytics professional who has extensive experience working with any of these systems and is willing to share their insights. Ideally, we would like to speak with someone from companies that have transitioned from proprietary BI tools (such as PowerBI, Qlik, or Tableau) to open-source BI tools, or vice versa.
If you have any contacts or recommendations for individuals we could reach out to regarding this matter, we would greatly appreciate it. Additionally, if you are personally willing to share your experiences, please feel free to reach out to me directly. Thank you!
- Dozens of API docs and Cheat-Sheets17
- Great for offline use12
- Works with Alfred8
- Excellent documentation8
- Quick API search8
- Fast5
- Good integration with Xcode and AppCode3
- Great for mobile dev work2