AwesomeDataviz

plotly (R)

Interactive charts (including adding interactivity to ggplot2 output), cartograms and simple network diagrams

Website GitHubCRAN
GitHub stars
2.7K
CRAN downloads / week
59.9K
Commits, last 12 months
19
Contributors
57
Last commit
Latest release
v4.12.1Jul 25, 2026

Overview

plotly (R) is an open-source R visualization package released under the MIT license. Its GitHub repository has 2,682 stars, 640 forks, and 57 contributors. It is actively developed with 19 commits in the last 12 months. The latest release, v4.12.1, was published on Jul 25, 2026. On CRAN it is downloaded about 59.9K times per week.

Its GitHub description: An interactive graphing library for R

GitHub topics: rggplot2javascriptdata-visualizationd3jsshinyplotlywebglrstatsr-package

Install

CRAN
install.packages("plotly")
v4.12.1

Development activity

Commits per month to the default branch over the last 12 complete months.

051015 Oct 2025 Nov Dec Jan 2026 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
051015 Oct 2025 Jan 2026 Apr Jul
19 commits from Oct 2025 to Sep 2026.
Show data as a table
MonthCommits
Oct 20250
Nov 20250
Dec 20250
Jan 202613
Feb 20260
Mar 20260
Apr 20263
May 20260
Jun 20261
Jul 20262
Aug 20260
Sep 20260

Popularity among R data visualization packages

ggplot2 7K Shiny 5.7K plotly (R) 2.7K patchwork 2.6K ggstatsplot 2.2K rayshader 2.2K gt 2.2K
ggplot2 7K Shiny 5.7K plotly (R) 2.7K patchwork 2.6K ggstatsplot 2.2K rayshader 2.2K gt 2.2K
GitHub stars for plotly (R) and the most-starred alternatives.
Show data as a table
ToolStars
ggplot27,005
Shiny5,694
plotly (R)2,682
patchwork2,615
ggstatsplot2,207
rayshader2,182
gt2,161

Alternatives to plotly (R)

More comparisons: ggplot2 vs plotly (R) · plotly (R) vs Shiny · patchwork vs plotly (R) · ggstatsplot vs plotly (R)

plotly (R) FAQ

Is plotly (R) open source?

Yes. plotly (R) is released under the MIT license, and its source code is on GitHub.

Is plotly (R) still maintained?

Yes. plotly (R) is actively developed, with 19 commits in the last 12 months and the latest commit 2 months ago.

How do I install plotly (R)?

From CRAN: install.packages("plotly").

What are the best alternatives to plotly (R)?

The most popular alternatives listed in R data visualization packages are ggplot2, Shiny, and patchwork. See the full ranking.

What language is plotly (R) written in?

plotly (R) is primarily written in R, according to GitHub.

Data: GitHub API, CRAN. Updated Oct 4, 2026.