F3D vs Serial Studio
A data-driven comparison of two C++ visualization libraries & applications: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
F3DCross-platform, fast, and minimalist 3D viewer with scientific visualization tools.
Serial StudioReal-time telemetry dashboard for data from serial ports, Bluetooth LE, network sockets and other sources.
Key differences
- Serial Studio has 1.5× as many GitHub stars as F3D (7.2K vs 4.7K).
- Serial Studio had more development activity over the last 12 months: 1,462 commits vs 696.
- F3D is licensed under BSD-3-Clause; Serial Studio under GPL-3.0-or-later.
- F3D is written primarily in C++, Serial Studio in C.
By the numbers
- F3D
- Serial Studio
Show data as a table
| Metric | F3D | Serial Studio |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 4,742 | 7,221 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 696 | 1,462 |
| Contributors | 120 | 24 |
| Forks | 448 | 1,086 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- F3D
- Serial Studio
Show data as a table
| Month | F3D | Serial Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 74 | 22 |
| Nov 2025 | 81 | 22 |
| Dec 2025 | 44 | 147 |
| Jan 2026 | 72 | 89 |
| Feb 2026 | 51 | 60 |
| Mar 2026 | 51 | 190 |
| Apr 2026 | 35 | 95 |
| May 2026 | 84 | 269 |
| Jun 2026 | 47 | 199 |
| Jul 2026 | 77 | 157 |
| Aug 2026 | 26 | 143 |
| Sep 2026 | 54 | 69 |
Side by side
| Attribute | F3D | Serial Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Cross-platform, fast, and minimalist 3D viewer with scientific visualization tools. | Real-time telemetry dashboard for data from serial ports, Bluetooth LE, network sockets and other sources. |
| Category | C++ visualization libraries & applications | C++ visualization libraries & applications |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Language | C++ | C |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Latest release | v3.5.0 () | v4.1.0 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 276 | 21 |
| 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.
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F3D
Cross-platform, fast, and minimalist 3D viewer with scientific visualization tools.
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Serial Studio
Real-time telemetry dashboard for data from serial ports, Bluetooth LE, network sockets and other sources.