patchwork vs plotly (R)
A data-driven comparison of two R data visualization packages: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
patchworkComposes multiple ggplot2 plots into a single figure.
plotly (R)Interactive charts (including adding interactivity to ggplot2 output), cartograms and simple network diagrams
Key differences
- plotly (R) and patchwork have a similar number of GitHub stars (2.7K vs 2.6K).
- plotly (R) had more development activity over the last 12 months: 19 commits vs 0.
- patchwork is downloaded 1.2× as often on CRAN (74.8K vs 59.9K per week).
- Both are released under the MIT license.
- plotly (R) is the older project: its repository was created in 2013, patchwork's in 2017.
- patchwork has had no commits since Aug 25, 2025.
By the numbers
- patchwork
- plotly (R)
Show data as a table
| Metric | patchwork | plotly (R) |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 2,615 | 2,682 |
| CRAN downloads / week | 74,782 | 59,895 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 0 | 19 |
| Contributors | 17 | 57 |
| Forks | 171 | 640 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- patchwork
- plotly (R)
Show data as a table
| Month | patchwork | plotly (R) |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan 2026 | 0 | 13 |
| Feb 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 2026 | 0 | 3 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | 0 | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2026 | 0 | 0 |
Side by side
| Attribute | patchwork | plotly (R) |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Composes multiple ggplot2 plots into a single figure. | Interactive charts (including adding interactivity to ggplot2 output), cartograms and simple network diagrams |
| Category | R data visualization packages | R data visualization packages |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | R | R |
| Status | Inactive | Active |
| Latest release | v1.3.2 () | v4.12.1 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 76 | 715 |
| Install | install.packages("patchwork") | install.packages("plotly") |
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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patchwork
Composes multiple ggplot2 plots into a single figure.
-
plotly (R)
Interactive charts (including adding interactivity to ggplot2 output), cartograms and simple network diagrams