Lightweight Charts vs Plotly.js
A data-driven comparison of two JavaScript charting libraries: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
Lightweight ChartsPerformant HTML5 canvas financial charts, from TradingView.
Plotly.jsPowerful declarative library with support for 20 chart types.
Key differences
- Plotly.js and Lightweight Charts have a similar number of GitHub stars (18.4K vs 17.5K).
- Plotly.js had more development activity over the last 12 months: 1,549 commits vs 329.
- Lightweight Charts is downloaded 1.5× as often on npm (1.4M vs 873K per week).
- Lightweight Charts is licensed under Apache-2.0; Plotly.js under MIT.
- Lightweight Charts is written primarily in TypeScript, Plotly.js in JavaScript.
- Plotly.js is the older project: its repository was created in 2015, Lightweight Charts's in 2019.
By the numbers
- Lightweight Charts
- Plotly.js
Show data as a table
| Metric | Lightweight Charts | Plotly.js |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 17,473 | 18,355 |
| npm downloads / week | 1,351,887 | 873,003 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 329 | 1,549 |
| Contributors | 58 | 263 |
| Forks | 2,631 | 2,044 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- Lightweight Charts
- Plotly.js
Show data as a table
| Month | Lightweight Charts | Plotly.js |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 13 | 137 |
| Nov 2025 | 8 | 64 |
| Dec 2025 | 17 | 58 |
| Jan 2026 | 8 | 78 |
| Feb 2026 | 16 | 55 |
| Mar 2026 | 2 | 37 |
| Apr 2026 | 21 | 122 |
| May 2026 | 12 | 139 |
| Jun 2026 | 13 | 335 |
| Jul 2026 | 6 | 255 |
| Aug 2026 | 11 | 148 |
| Sep 2026 | 202 | 121 |
Side by side
| Attribute | Lightweight Charts | Plotly.js |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Performant HTML5 canvas financial charts, from TradingView. | Powerful declarative library with support for 20 chart types. |
| Category | JavaScript charting libraries | JavaScript charting libraries |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Latest release | v5.2.1 () | v4.1.1 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 113 | 728 |
| Install | npm install lightweight-charts | npm install plotly.js |
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.
-
Lightweight Charts
Performant HTML5 canvas financial charts, from TradingView.
-
Plotly.js
Powerful declarative library with support for 20 chart types.