Datashader vs glumpy
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.
glumpyOpenGL scientific visualizations library.
Key differences
- Datashader has 2.8× as many GitHub stars as glumpy (3.6K vs 1.3K).
- Datashader had more development activity over the last 12 months: 74 commits vs 0.
- Datashader is downloaded 679× as often on PyPI (105.9K vs 156 per week).
- Both are released under the BSD-3-Clause license.
- glumpy is the older project: its repository was created in 2014, Datashader's in 2015.
- glumpy has had no commits since Jul 15, 2025.
By the numbers
- Datashader
- glumpy
Show data as a table
| Metric | Datashader | glumpy |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 3,570 | 1,279 |
| PyPI downloads / week | 105,858 | 156 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 74 | 0 |
| Contributors | 63 | 52 |
| Forks | 378 | 179 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- Datashader
- glumpy
Show data as a table
| Month | Datashader | glumpy |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 2025 | 8 | 0 |
| Jan 2026 | 4 | 0 |
| Feb 2026 | 5 | 0 |
| Mar 2026 | 12 | 0 |
| Apr 2026 | 1 | 0 |
| May 2026 | 8 | 0 |
| Jun 2026 | 3 | 0 |
| Jul 2026 | 1 | 0 |
| Aug 2026 | 2 | 0 |
| Sep 2026 | 3 | 0 |
| Oct 2026 | 27 | 0 |
Side by side
| Attribute | Datashader | glumpy |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Renders very large datasets into accurate images by rasterizing them. | OpenGL scientific visualizations library. |
| Category | High-performance & GPU plotting libraries for Python | High-performance & GPU plotting libraries for Python |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Status | Active | Inactive |
| Latest release | v0.19.1 () | v1.2.1 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 133 | 89 |
| Install | pip install datashader | pip install glumpy |
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.
-
glumpy
OpenGL scientific visualizations library.