# Bokeh vs Plotly (Python)

## Key differences

- Bokeh and Plotly (Python) have a similar number of GitHub stars (20.5K vs 18.9K).
- Plotly (Python) had more development activity over the last 12 months: 816 commits vs 423.
- Plotly (Python) is downloaded 9.2× as often on PyPI (14.3M vs 1.6M per week).
- Bokeh is licensed under BSD-3-Clause; Plotly (Python) under MIT.
- Bokeh is written primarily in TypeScript, Plotly (Python) in Python.
- Bokeh is the older project: its repository was created in 2012, Plotly (Python)'s in 2013.

| | Bokeh | Plotly (Python) |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Interactive Web Plotting for Python. | Interactive web based visualization built on top of plotly.js |
| GitHub stars | 20,468 | 18,868 |
| Commits (12 months) | 423 | 816 |
| Contributors | 389 | 311 |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Install | `pip install bokeh` | `pip install plotly` |

Source: https://awesomedataviz.com/compare/bokeh-vs-plotly-python/ · Data updated 2026-11-01 · Content: CC BY 4.0, Awesome Dataviz (https://awesomedataviz.com).