fastplotlib vs PyQtGraph
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.
PyQtGraphInteractive and realtime 2D/3D/Image plotting and science/engineering widgets.
Key differences
- PyQtGraph has 2.9× as many GitHub stars as fastplotlib (4.4K vs 1.5K).
- PyQtGraph had more development activity over the last 12 months: 352 commits vs 40.
- PyQtGraph is downloaded 126× as often on PyPI (234.6K vs 1.9K per week).
- fastplotlib is licensed under Apache-2.0; PyQtGraph under MIT.
- PyQtGraph is the older project: its repository was created in 2013, fastplotlib's in 2022.
By the numbers
- fastplotlib
- PyQtGraph
Show data as a table
| Metric | fastplotlib | PyQtGraph |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 1,533 | 4,431 |
| PyPI downloads / week | 1,866 | 234,578 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 40 | 352 |
| Contributors | 14 | 275 |
| Forks | 66 | 1,202 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- fastplotlib
- PyQtGraph
Show data as a table
| Month | fastplotlib | PyQtGraph |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | 7 | 61 |
| Dec 2025 | 4 | 14 |
| Jan 2026 | 1 | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | 9 | 11 |
| Mar 2026 | 4 | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | 1 | 12 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | 1 | 83 |
| Jul 2026 | 0 | 10 |
| Aug 2026 | 1 | 70 |
| Sep 2026 | 9 | 56 |
| Oct 2026 | 3 | 29 |
Side by side
| Attribute | fastplotlib | PyQtGraph |
|---|---|---|
| Description | GPU-accelerated plotting library built on WGPU and pygfx for fast interactive visualization. | Interactive and realtime 2D/3D/Image plotting and science/engineering widgets. |
| Category | High-performance & GPU plotting libraries for Python | High-performance & GPU plotting libraries for Python |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Latest release | v0.7.0 () | pyqtgraph-0.14.0 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 144 | 431 |
| Install | pip install fastplotlib | pip install pyqtgraph |
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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PyQtGraph
Interactive and realtime 2D/3D/Image plotting and science/engineering widgets.