diagram vs Plotext
A data-driven comparison of two Terminal plotting libraries for Python: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
Key differences
- Plotext has 5.4× as many GitHub stars as diagram (2.2K vs 408).
- Plotext had more development activity over the last 12 months: 25 commits vs 0.
- Plotext is downloaded 118× as often on PyPI (541.5K vs 4.6K per week).
- Both are released under the MIT license.
- diagram is the older project: its repository was created in 2014, Plotext's in 2019.
- diagram has had no commits since Apr 12, 2022.
By the numbers
- diagram
- Plotext
Show data as a table
| Metric | diagram | Plotext |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 408 | 2,211 |
| PyPI downloads / week | 4,578 | 541,453 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 0 | 25 |
| Contributors | 8 | 7 |
| Forks | 22 | 91 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- diagram
- Plotext
Show data as a table
| Month | diagram | Plotext |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | 0 | 6 |
| Dec 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | 0 | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 2026 | 0 | 12 |
| Sep 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 2026 | 0 | 0 |
Side by side
| Attribute | diagram | Plotext |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Text mode diagrams using UTF-8 characters | Plots data directly in the terminal with a matplotlib-like syntax. |
| Category | Terminal plotting libraries for Python | Terminal plotting libraries for Python |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Status | Inactive | Active |
| Latest release | – | 6.1.0 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 2 | 3 |
| Install | pip install diagram | pip install plotext |
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.