Charts vs Core Plot
A data-driven comparison of two iOS & Swift chart libraries: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
Key differences
- Charts has 10× as many GitHub stars as Core Plot (28K vs 2.8K).
- Charts had more development activity over the last 12 months: 1 commits vs 0.
- Charts is licensed under Apache-2.0; Core Plot under BSD-3-Clause.
- Charts is written primarily in Swift, Core Plot in Objective-C.
- Core Plot is the older project: its repository was created in 2013, Charts's in 2015.
- Core Plot has had no commits since Nov 22, 2023.
By the numbers
- Charts
- Core Plot
Show data as a table
| Metric | Charts | Core Plot |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 27,997 | 2,758 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 1 | 0 |
| Contributors | 151 | 33 |
| Forks | 5,989 | 594 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- Charts
- Core Plot
Show data as a table
| Month | Charts | Core Plot |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2026 | 1 | 0 |
| Apr 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2026 | 0 | 0 |
Side by side
| Attribute | Charts | Core Plot |
|---|---|---|
| Description | IOS port of MPAndroidChart. You can create charts for both platforms with very similar code. | 2D plotting framework for macOS, iOS and tvOS. |
| Category | iOS & Swift chart libraries | iOS & Swift chart libraries |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Swift | Objective-C |
| Status | Maintained | Inactive |
| Latest release | 5.1.0 () | release_2.3 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 884 | 46 |
| Install | – | – |
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.