# C++ visualization libraries & applications

> Scientific, 3D and high-performance visualization. 14 tools, ranked by GitHub stars.

Libraries and applications for scientific, 3D and high-performance visualization in C++. Many build on VTK, the Visualization Toolkit, which also powers ParaView. Most of these projects ship Python bindings, so they are often used from Python too.

| # | Tool | GitHub stars | Commits (12 mo) | License | Description |
|---:|---|---:|---:|---|---|
| 1 | [ImPlot](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/implot/) | 6,239 | 104 | MIT | Immediate-mode plotting library for Dear ImGui. |
| 2 | [PlotJuggler](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/plotjuggler/) | 6,230 | 615 | MPL-2.0 | Open-source Qt5 application to plot charts (based on Qwt). |
| 3 | [Matplot++](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/matplotpp/) | 4,937 | 3 | MIT | C++ graphics library for data visualization with a MATLAB-like API. |
| 4 | [F3D](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/f3d/) | 4,741 | 696 | BSD-3-Clause | Cross-platform, fast, and minimalist 3D viewer with scientific visualization tools. |
| 5 | [Mapnik](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/mapnik/) | 3,965 | 191 | LGPL-2.1 | Toolkit for rendering maps, widely used to render OpenStreetMap tiles. |
| 6 | [ROOT](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/root/) | 3,307 | 4,406 | Other | CERN framework for analyzing, storing and visualizing large scientific datasets. |
| 7 | [VTK](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/vtk/) | 3,211 | 5,558 | BSD | Open-source library for 3d Graphics, image processing and visualization. |
| 8 | [MapLibre Native](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/maplibre-native/) | 2,251 | 414 | BSD-2-Clause | Interactive vector tile map rendering for iOS, Android and other native platforms. |
| 9 | [Polyscope](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/polyscope/) | 2,214 | 61 | MIT | Viewer and user interface for 3D geometry processing. |
| 10 | [ParaView](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/paraview/) | 1,704 | 1,916 | BSD-3-Clause | Multi-platform data analysis and visualization application based on VTK. |
| 11 | [LargeVis](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/largevis/) | 711 | 0 | Apache-2.0 | Implementation of the LargeVis paper, used to visualize large-scale and high-dimensional data. |
| 12 | [VisIt](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/visit/) | 532 | 353 | BSD-3-Clause | Visualization and analysis tool for large mesh-based scientific data, developed at LLNL. |
| 13 | [TTK](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/ttk/) | 481 | 480 | BSD-3-Clause | Topological data analysis and visualization. |
| 14 | [QCustomPlot](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/qcustomplot/) | – | – | – | Qt C++ widget for plotting and data visualization. |

Source: https://awesomedataviz.com/categories/cpp/ · Data updated 2026-10-04 · Content: CC BY 4.0, Awesome Dataviz (https://awesomedataviz.com).