# ggplot2 vs plotly (R)

## Key differences

- ggplot2 has 2.6× as many GitHub stars as plotly (R) (7K vs 2.7K).
- ggplot2 had more development activity over the last 12 months: 86 commits vs 19.
- ggplot2 is downloaded 7.9× as often on CRAN (471.1K vs 59.9K per week).
- Both are released under the MIT license.
- ggplot2 is the older project: its repository was created in 2008, plotly (R)'s in 2013.

| | ggplot2 | plotly (R) |
|---|---|---|
| Description | A plotting system based on the grammar of graphics. | Interactive charts (including adding interactivity to ggplot2 output), cartograms and simple network diagrams |
| GitHub stars | 7,005 | 2,682 |
| Commits (12 months) | 86 | 19 |
| Contributors | 354 | 57 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | R | R |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Install | `install.packages("ggplot2")` | `install.packages("plotly")` |

Source: https://awesomedataviz.com/compare/ggplot2-vs-plotly-r/ · Data updated 2026-10-04 · Content: CC BY 4.0, Awesome Dataviz (https://awesomedataviz.com).