ImPlot vs Serial Studio
A data-driven comparison of two C++ visualization libraries & applications: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
ImPlotImmediate-mode plotting library for Dear ImGui.
Serial StudioReal-time telemetry dashboard for data from serial ports, Bluetooth LE, network sockets and other sources.
Key differences
- Serial Studio has 1.2× as many GitHub stars as ImPlot (7.2K vs 6.2K).
- Serial Studio had more development activity over the last 12 months: 1,462 commits vs 104.
- ImPlot is licensed under MIT; Serial Studio under GPL-3.0-or-later.
- ImPlot is written primarily in C++, Serial Studio in C.
By the numbers
- ImPlot
- Serial Studio
Show data as a table
| Metric | ImPlot | Serial Studio |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 6,240 | 7,221 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 104 | 1,462 |
| Contributors | 55 | 24 |
| Forks | 696 | 1,086 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- ImPlot
- Serial Studio
Show data as a table
| Month | ImPlot | Serial Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 0 | 22 |
| Nov 2025 | 27 | 22 |
| Dec 2025 | 2 | 147 |
| Jan 2026 | 0 | 89 |
| Feb 2026 | 46 | 60 |
| Mar 2026 | 11 | 190 |
| Apr 2026 | 9 | 95 |
| May 2026 | 4 | 269 |
| Jun 2026 | 2 | 199 |
| Jul 2026 | 0 | 157 |
| Aug 2026 | 2 | 143 |
| Sep 2026 | 1 | 69 |
Side by side
| Attribute | ImPlot | Serial Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Immediate-mode plotting library for Dear ImGui. | 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 | MIT | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Language | C++ | C |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Latest release | v1.0 () | v4.1.0 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 106 | 21 |
| Install | – | – |
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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ImPlot
Immediate-mode plotting library for Dear ImGui.
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Serial Studio
Real-time telemetry dashboard for data from serial ports, Bluetooth LE, network sockets and other sources.