Bokeh vs Plotly (Python)
A data-driven comparison of two Python interactive web charting libraries: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
BokehInteractive Web Plotting for Python.
Plotly (Python)Interactive web based visualization built on top of plotly.js
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.
By the numbers
- Bokeh
- Plotly (Python)
Show data as a table
| Metric | Bokeh | Plotly (Python) |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 20,468 | 18,868 |
| PyPI downloads / week | 1,555,657 | 14,264,549 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 423 | 816 |
| Contributors | 389 | 311 |
| Forks | 4,267 | 2,884 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- Bokeh
- Plotly (Python)
Show data as a table
| Month | Bokeh | Plotly (Python) |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | 20 | 51 |
| Dec 2025 | 9 | 33 |
| Jan 2026 | 38 | 25 |
| Feb 2026 | 20 | 44 |
| Mar 2026 | 38 | 94 |
| Apr 2026 | 21 | 67 |
| May 2026 | 13 | 49 |
| Jun 2026 | 23 | 36 |
| Jul 2026 | 59 | 98 |
| Aug 2026 | 45 | 80 |
| Sep 2026 | 45 | 98 |
| Oct 2026 | 92 | 141 |
Side by side
| Attribute | Bokeh | Plotly (Python) |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Interactive Web Plotting for Python. | Interactive web based visualization built on top of plotly.js |
| Category | Python interactive web charting libraries | Python interactive web charting libraries |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Latest release | – | v7.1.0 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 741 | 647 |
| Install | pip install bokeh | pip install plotly |
Which should you choose?
Popularity and activity are only part of the story. Consider which ecosystem you work in, the chart types and interactions you need, how much data you render, and whether the license fits your project. Both tool pages list alternatives if neither is quite right.
-
Bokeh
Interactive Web Plotting for Python.
-
Plotly (Python)
Interactive web based visualization built on top of plotly.js