Gadfly.jl vs Makie
A data-driven comparison of two Julia plotting packages: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
Key differences
- Makie has 1.5× as many GitHub stars as Gadfly.jl (2.8K vs 1.9K).
- Makie had more development activity over the last 12 months: 199 commits vs 0.
- Gadfly.jl is licensed under Other; Makie under MIT.
- Gadfly.jl is the older project: its repository was created in 2012, Makie's in 2017.
- Gadfly.jl has had no commits since Jun 9, 2025.
By the numbers
- Gadfly.jl
- Makie
Show data as a table
| Metric | Gadfly.jl | Makie |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 1,927 | 2,816 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 0 | 199 |
| Contributors | 100 | 264 |
| Forks | 248 | 396 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- Gadfly.jl
- Makie
Show data as a table
| Month | Gadfly.jl | Makie |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 0 | 13 |
| Nov 2025 | 0 | 31 |
| Dec 2025 | 0 | 19 |
| Jan 2026 | 0 | 8 |
| Feb 2026 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 16 |
| Apr 2026 | 0 | 17 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 21 |
| Jun 2026 | 0 | 12 |
| Jul 2026 | 0 | 22 |
| Aug 2026 | 0 | 11 |
| Sep 2026 | 0 | 26 |
Side by side
| Attribute | Gadfly.jl | Makie |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Statistical graphics for Julia based on the grammar of graphics. | Interactive, high-performance plotting ecosystem for Julia with OpenGL, WebGL and Cairo backends. |
| Category | Julia plotting packages | Julia plotting packages |
| License | Other | MIT |
| Language | Julia | Julia |
| Status | Inactive | Active |
| Latest release | v1.3.4 () | v0.24.15 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 260 | 811 |
| Install | julia -e 'using Pkg; Pkg.add("Gadfly")' | julia -e 'using Pkg; Pkg.add("Makie")' |
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.