Mapnik vs PlotJuggler
A data-driven comparison of two C++ visualization libraries & applications: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
MapnikToolkit for rendering maps, widely used to render OpenStreetMap tiles.
PlotJugglerOpen-source Qt5 application to plot charts (based on Qwt).
Key differences
- PlotJuggler has 1.6× as many GitHub stars as Mapnik (6.2K vs 4K).
- PlotJuggler had more development activity over the last 12 months: 615 commits vs 191.
- Mapnik is licensed under LGPL-2.1; PlotJuggler under MPL-2.0.
- Mapnik is the older project: its repository was created in 2011, PlotJuggler's in 2016.
By the numbers
- Mapnik
- PlotJuggler
Show data as a table
| Metric | Mapnik | PlotJuggler |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 3,965 | 6,230 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 191 | 615 |
| Contributors | 98 | 5 |
| Forks | 839 | 826 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- Mapnik
- PlotJuggler
Show data as a table
| Month | Mapnik | PlotJuggler |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 15 | 0 |
| Nov 2025 | 8 | 0 |
| Dec 2025 | 16 | 0 |
| Jan 2026 | 8 | 0 |
| Feb 2026 | 4 | 0 |
| Mar 2026 | 10 | 0 |
| Apr 2026 | 4 | 38 |
| May 2026 | 13 | 57 |
| Jun 2026 | 5 | 177 |
| Jul 2026 | 31 | 203 |
| Aug 2026 | 31 | 70 |
| Sep 2026 | 46 | 70 |
Side by side
| Attribute | Mapnik | PlotJuggler |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Toolkit for rendering maps, widely used to render OpenStreetMap tiles. | Open-source Qt5 application to plot charts (based on Qwt). |
| Category | C++ visualization libraries & applications | C++ visualization libraries & applications |
| License | LGPL-2.1 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | C++ | C++ |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Latest release | v4.3.2 () | 4.0.0 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 682 | 43 |
| 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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Mapnik
Toolkit for rendering maps, widely used to render OpenStreetMap tiles.
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PlotJuggler
Open-source Qt5 application to plot charts (based on Qwt).