pygal vs Toyplot
A data-driven comparison of two Python plotting libraries: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
Key differences
- pygal has 6.2× as many GitHub stars as Toyplot (2.8K vs 449).
- pygal had more development activity over the last 12 months: 27 commits vs 26.
- pygal is downloaded 142× as often on PyPI (110.2K vs 778 per week).
- pygal is licensed under LGPL-3.0; Toyplot under BSD.
- pygal is written primarily in Python, Toyplot in Jupyter Notebook.
- pygal is the older project: its repository was created in 2011, Toyplot's in 2014.
By the numbers
- pygal
- Toyplot
Show data as a table
| Metric | pygal | Toyplot |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 2,773 | 449 |
| PyPI downloads / week | 110,240 | 778 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 27 | 26 |
| Contributors | 57 | 9 |
| Forks | 417 | 40 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- pygal
- Toyplot
Show data as a table
| Month | pygal | Toyplot |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | 14 | 0 |
| Dec 2025 | 2 | 0 |
| Jan 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb 2026 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 20 |
| Apr 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | 10 | 0 |
| Jul 2026 | 1 | 0 |
| Aug 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 2026 | 0 | 0 |
Side by side
| Attribute | pygal | Toyplot |
|---|---|---|
| Description | SVG charting library for Python with many chart types and interactive output. | The kid-sized plotting toolkit for Python with grownup-sized goals. |
| Category | Python plotting libraries | Python plotting libraries |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | BSD |
| Language | Python | Jupyter Notebook |
| Status | Maintained | Maintained |
| Latest release | 3.1.3 () | v2.1.0 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 175 | 16 |
| Install | pip install pygal | pip install toyplot |
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.