Mayavi vs napari
A data-driven comparison of two Python 3D & scientific visualization libraries: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
Key differences
- napari has 2× as many GitHub stars as Mayavi (2.8K vs 1.4K).
- napari had more development activity over the last 12 months: 745 commits vs 45.
- napari is downloaded 19× as often on PyPI (34.7K vs 1.8K per week).
- Both are released under the BSD-3-Clause license.
- Mayavi is the older project: its repository was created in 2011, napari's in 2018.
By the numbers
- Mayavi
- napari
Show data as a table
| Metric | Mayavi | napari |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 1,412 | 2,791 |
| PyPI downloads / week | 1,848 | 34,687 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 45 | 745 |
| Contributors | 62 | 228 |
| Forks | 331 | 569 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- Mayavi
- napari
Show data as a table
| Month | Mayavi | napari |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | 0 | 11 |
| Dec 2025 | 0 | 45 |
| Jan 2026 | 0 | 53 |
| Feb 2026 | 0 | 54 |
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 55 |
| Apr 2026 | 0 | 60 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 43 |
| Jun 2026 | 0 | 52 |
| Jul 2026 | 19 | 114 |
| Aug 2026 | 23 | 76 |
| Sep 2026 | 1 | 50 |
| Oct 2026 | 2 | 132 |
Side by side
| Attribute | Mayavi | napari |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Interactive scientific data visualization and 3D plotting in Python. | Fast, interactive viewer for multi-dimensional images in Python. |
| Category | Python 3D & scientific visualization libraries | Python 3D & scientific visualization libraries |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Latest release | 4.9.0 () | v0.10.0 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 451 | 1,091 |
| Install | pip install mayavi | pip install napari |
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.