F3D vs Mapnik
A data-driven comparison of two C++ visualization libraries & applications: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
Key differences
- F3D has 1.2× as many GitHub stars as Mapnik (4.7K vs 4K).
- F3D had more development activity over the last 12 months: 696 commits vs 191.
- F3D is licensed under BSD-3-Clause; Mapnik under LGPL-2.1.
- Mapnik is the older project: its repository was created in 2011, F3D's in 2020.
By the numbers
- F3D
- Mapnik
Show data as a table
| Metric | F3D | Mapnik |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 4,741 | 3,965 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 696 | 191 |
| Contributors | 120 | 98 |
| Forks | 448 | 839 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- F3D
- Mapnik
Show data as a table
| Month | F3D | Mapnik |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 74 | 15 |
| Nov 2025 | 81 | 8 |
| Dec 2025 | 44 | 16 |
| Jan 2026 | 72 | 8 |
| Feb 2026 | 51 | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | 51 | 10 |
| Apr 2026 | 35 | 4 |
| May 2026 | 84 | 13 |
| Jun 2026 | 47 | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | 77 | 31 |
| Aug 2026 | 26 | 31 |
| Sep 2026 | 54 | 46 |
Side by side
| Attribute | F3D | Mapnik |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Cross-platform, fast, and minimalist 3D viewer with scientific visualization tools. | Toolkit for rendering maps, widely used to render OpenStreetMap tiles. |
| Category | C++ visualization libraries & applications | C++ visualization libraries & applications |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | LGPL-2.1 |
| Language | C++ | C++ |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Latest release | v3.5.0 () | v4.3.2 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 275 | 682 |
| Install | npm install f3dpip install f3d | – |
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.