# 3D & scientific visualization

> Meshes, volumes, point clouds and scientific data in 3D. 25 tools, ranked by GitHub stars.

Tools for 3D and scientific visualization: meshes, volumes, point clouds and simulation output, from the Visualization Toolkit (VTK) ecosystem to GPU-accelerated Python libraries.

| # | Tool | GitHub stars | Commits (12 mo) | License | Description |
|---:|---|---:|---:|---|---|
| 1 | [3d-force-graph](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/3d-force-graph/) | 6,433 | 9 | MIT | 3D force-directed graph component using Three.js/WebGL. |
| 2 | [Potree](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/potree/) | 5,628 | 1 | Other | WebGL point cloud viewer for large datasets such as LiDAR scans. |
| 3 | [Matplot++](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/matplotpp/) | 4,937 | 3 | MIT | C++ graphics library for data visualization with a MATLAB-like API. |
| 4 | [F3D](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/f3d/) | 4,741 | 696 | BSD-3-Clause | Cross-platform, fast, and minimalist 3D viewer with scientific visualization tools. |
| 5 | [maptalks.js](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/maptalks-js/) | 4,534 | 293 | BSD-3-Clause | Pluggable JavaScript library for integrated 2D/3D maps. |
| 6 | [PyQtGraph](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/pyqtgraph/) | 4,421 | 355 | MIT | Interactive and realtime 2D/3D/Image plotting and science/engineering widgets. |
| 7 | [L7](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/l7/) | 4,070 | 112 | MIT | Large-scale WebGL-powered Geospatial Data Visualization analysis framework, maintained by Alibaba |
| 8 | [PyVista](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/pyvista/) | 3,832 | 884 | MIT | 3D plotting and mesh analysis through a streamlined interface for the Visualization Toolkit (VTK) |
| 9 | [VisPy](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/vispy/) | 3,603 | 62 | BSD-3-Clause | High-performance scientific visualization based on OpenGL. |
| 10 | [VTK](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/vtk/) | 3,211 | 5,558 | BSD | Open-source library for 3d Graphics, image processing and visualization. |
| 11 | [vedo](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/vedo/) | 2,272 | 263 | MIT | Library for scientific analysis and visualization of 3D objects based on VTK. |
| 12 | [Polyscope](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/polyscope/) | 2,214 | 61 | MIT | Viewer and user interface for 3D geometry processing. |
| 13 | [rayshader](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/rayshader/) | 2,182 | 33 | GPL-3.0 | 2D and 3D mapping and data visualization in R, including 3D renders of ggplot2 plots. |
| 14 | [vtk.js](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/vtk-js/) | 1,536 | 361 | BSD-3-Clause | JavaScript implementation of the Visualization Toolkit (VTK) for scientific visualization on the web. |
| 15 | [Mayavi](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/mayavi/) | 1,412 | 43 | BSD-3-Clause | Interactive scientific data visualization and 3D plotting in Python. |
| 16 | [glumpy](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/glumpy/) | 1,280 | 0 | BSD-3-Clause | OpenGL scientific visualizations library. |
| 17 | [pptk](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/pptk/) | 635 | 0 | MIT | Visualize and work with 2D/3D pointclouds |
| 18 | [yt](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/yt/) | 559 | 400 | BSD-3-Clause | Toolkit for analysis and visualization of volumetric data. |
| 19 | [VisIt](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/visit/) | 532 | 353 | BSD-3-Clause | Visualization and analysis tool for large mesh-based scientific data, developed at LLNL. |
| 20 | [LabPlot](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/labplot/) | 486 | 1,428 | – | KDE application for interactive scientific plotting, data analysis and visualization. |
| 21 | [TTK](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/ttk/) | 481 | 480 | BSD-3-Clause | Topological data analysis and visualization. |
| 22 | [PGFPlots](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/pgfplots/) | 257 | 13 | – | TeX package for drawing 2D and 3D plots directly in LaTeX documents. |
| 23 | [three.py](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/three-py/) | 121 | 0 | MIT | Easy to use 3D library based on PyOpenGL. Inspired by Three.js. |
| 24 | [rgl](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/rgl/) | 103 | 36 | GPL-2.0 | 3D Visualization Using OpenGL |
| 25 | [gnuplot](https://awesomedataviz.com/tools/gnuplot/) | – | – | – | Command-line driven program for 2D and 3D plots, with many output formats. |

Source: https://awesomedataviz.com/topics/3d-and-scientific/ · Data updated 2026-10-04 · Content: CC BY 4.0, Awesome Dataviz (https://awesomedataviz.com).