fastplotlib vs glumpy
A data-driven comparison of two High-performance & GPU plotting libraries for Python: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
fastplotlibGPU-accelerated plotting library built on WGPU and pygfx for fast interactive visualization.
glumpyOpenGL scientific visualizations library.
Key differences
- fastplotlib has 1.2× as many GitHub stars as glumpy (1.5K vs 1.3K).
- fastplotlib had more development activity over the last 12 months: 40 commits vs 0.
- fastplotlib is downloaded 12× as often on PyPI (1.9K vs 156 per week).
- fastplotlib is licensed under Apache-2.0; glumpy under BSD-3-Clause.
- glumpy is the older project: its repository was created in 2014, fastplotlib's in 2022.
- glumpy has had no commits since Jul 15, 2025.
By the numbers
- fastplotlib
- glumpy
Show data as a table
| Metric | fastplotlib | glumpy |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 1,533 | 1,279 |
| PyPI downloads / week | 1,866 | 156 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 40 | 0 |
| Contributors | 14 | 52 |
| Forks | 66 | 179 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- fastplotlib
- glumpy
Show data as a table
| Month | fastplotlib | glumpy |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | 7 | 0 |
| Dec 2025 | 4 | 0 |
| Jan 2026 | 1 | 0 |
| Feb 2026 | 9 | 0 |
| Mar 2026 | 4 | 0 |
| Apr 2026 | 1 | 0 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 2026 | 1 | 0 |
| Jul 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 2026 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 2026 | 9 | 0 |
| Oct 2026 | 3 | 0 |
Side by side
| Attribute | fastplotlib | glumpy |
|---|---|---|
| Description | GPU-accelerated plotting library built on WGPU and pygfx for fast interactive visualization. | OpenGL scientific visualizations library. |
| Category | High-performance & GPU plotting libraries for Python | High-performance & GPU plotting libraries for Python |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Status | Active | Inactive |
| Latest release | v0.7.0 () | v1.2.1 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 144 | 89 |
| Install | pip install fastplotlib | 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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fastplotlib
GPU-accelerated plotting library built on WGPU and pygfx for fast interactive visualization.
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glumpy
OpenGL scientific visualizations library.