Datashader vs fastplotlib
A data-driven comparison of two High-performance & GPU plotting libraries for Python: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
DatashaderRenders very large datasets into accurate images by rasterizing them.
fastplotlibGPU-accelerated plotting library built on WGPU and pygfx for fast interactive visualization.
Key differences
- Datashader has 2.3× as many GitHub stars as fastplotlib (3.6K vs 1.5K).
- Datashader had more development activity over the last 12 months: 74 commits vs 40.
- Datashader is downloaded 57× as often on PyPI (105.9K vs 1.9K per week).
- Datashader is licensed under BSD-3-Clause; fastplotlib under Apache-2.0.
- Datashader is the older project: its repository was created in 2015, fastplotlib's in 2022.
By the numbers
- Datashader
- fastplotlib
Show data as a table
| Metric | Datashader | fastplotlib |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 3,570 | 1,533 |
| PyPI downloads / week | 105,858 | 1,866 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 74 | 40 |
| Contributors | 63 | 14 |
| Forks | 378 | 66 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- Datashader
- fastplotlib
Show data as a table
| Month | Datashader | fastplotlib |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | 0 | 7 |
| Dec 2025 | 8 | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | 4 | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | 5 | 9 |
| Mar 2026 | 12 | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | 1 | 1 |
| May 2026 | 8 | 0 |
| Jun 2026 | 3 | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | 1 | 0 |
| Aug 2026 | 2 | 1 |
| Sep 2026 | 3 | 9 |
| Oct 2026 | 27 | 3 |
Side by side
| Attribute | Datashader | fastplotlib |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Renders very large datasets into accurate images by rasterizing them. | GPU-accelerated plotting library built on WGPU and pygfx for fast interactive visualization. |
| Category | High-performance & GPU plotting libraries for Python | High-performance & GPU plotting libraries for Python |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Latest release | v0.19.1 () | v0.7.0 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 133 | 144 |
| Install | pip install datashader | pip install fastplotlib |
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.
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Datashader
Renders very large datasets into accurate images by rasterizing them.
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fastplotlib
GPU-accelerated plotting library built on WGPU and pygfx for fast interactive visualization.