PlotJuggler vs Serial Studio
A data-driven comparison of two C++ visualization libraries & applications: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
PlotJugglerOpen-source Qt5 application to plot charts (based on Qwt).
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 PlotJuggler (7.2K vs 6.2K).
- Serial Studio had more development activity over the last 12 months: 1,462 commits vs 615.
- PlotJuggler is licensed under MPL-2.0; Serial Studio under GPL-3.0-or-later.
- PlotJuggler is written primarily in C++, Serial Studio in C.
- PlotJuggler is the older project: its repository was created in 2016, Serial Studio's in 2020.
By the numbers
- PlotJuggler
- Serial Studio
Show data as a table
| Metric | PlotJuggler | Serial Studio |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 6,228 | 7,221 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 615 | 1,462 |
| Contributors | 5 | 24 |
| Forks | 827 | 1,086 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- PlotJuggler
- Serial Studio
Show data as a table
| Month | PlotJuggler | Serial Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 0 | 22 |
| Nov 2025 | 0 | 22 |
| Dec 2025 | 0 | 147 |
| Jan 2026 | 0 | 89 |
| Feb 2026 | 0 | 60 |
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 190 |
| Apr 2026 | 38 | 95 |
| May 2026 | 57 | 269 |
| Jun 2026 | 177 | 199 |
| Jul 2026 | 203 | 157 |
| Aug 2026 | 70 | 143 |
| Sep 2026 | 70 | 69 |
Side by side
| Attribute | PlotJuggler | Serial Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Open-source Qt5 application to plot charts (based on Qwt). | 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 | MPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Language | C++ | C |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Latest release | 4.0.0 () | v4.1.0 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 44 | 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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PlotJuggler
Open-source Qt5 application to plot charts (based on Qwt).
-
Serial Studio
Real-time telemetry dashboard for data from serial ports, Bluetooth LE, network sockets and other sources.