# D2 vs PlantUML

## Key differences

- D2 has 1.9× as many GitHub stars as PlantUML (25.6K vs 13.4K).
- PlantUML had more development activity over the last 12 months: 846 commits vs 324.
- D2 is licensed under MPL-2.0; PlantUML under LGPL-3.0.
- D2 is written primarily in Go, PlantUML in Java.
- PlantUML is the older project: its repository was created in 2010, D2's in 2022.

| | D2 | PlantUML |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Declarative diagram scripting language that turns text into diagrams. | Generates UML, Gantt, mind map and other diagrams from plain text. |
| GitHub stars | 25,564 | 13,352 |
| Commits (12 months) | 324 | 846 |
| Contributors | 65 | 131 |
| License | MPL-2.0 | LGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Install | `go get github.com/d2lang/d2` | `implementation("net.sourceforge.plantuml:plantuml:1.2025.4")` |

Source: https://awesomedataviz.com/compare/d2-vs-plantuml/ · Data updated 2026-10-04 · Content: CC BY 4.0, Awesome Dataviz (https://awesomedataviz.com).