Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

C3.js VS amCharts

Compare C3.js VS amCharts and see what are their differences

C3.js logo C3.js

D3-based reusable chart library that enables deeper integration of charts into web applications

amCharts logo amCharts

Advanced javascript charting library that will suit any data visualization need
  • C3.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-01-08
  • amCharts Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-09

C3.js features and specs

  • Easy to Use
    C3.js provides a simple and convenient way to create charts. Its API is designed to be easy to understand, making it accessible for both novice and experienced developers.
  • Customization
    The library offers a high degree of customization options, allowing developers to tweak the appearance and behavior of charts to meet specific requirements.
  • Integration with D3.js
    C3.js is built on top of D3.js, enabling it to leverage the extensive capabilities of D3.js while providing a more user-friendly API.
  • Responsiveness
    C3.js charts are responsive by default, meaning they automatically adjust to different screen sizes, which is essential for modern web applications.
  • Documentation
    Comprehensive documentation and a variety of examples make it easier for developers to get started and effectively use the library.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source project, C3.js is freely available, and the community can contribute to its development, ensuring continuous improvements and updates.

Possible disadvantages of C3.js

  • Performance
    For complex visualizations and large datasets, C3.js may not perform as fast as other specialized charting libraries.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    While offering a good range of basic chart types, C3.js lacks some of the advanced features and chart types found in more comprehensive charting libraries.
  • Dependency on D3.js
    As C3.js is built on top of D3.js, it inherits some of D3.js's complexity. Developers sometimes need to understand D3.js to fully utilize C3.js's capabilities.
  • Maintenance and Updates
    The pace of updates and new releases is slower compared to some other libraries, which can be an issue for projects requiring the latest features and bug fixes.
  • Size
    C3.js, along with its dependency D3.js, can add significant size to the project, which may impact the performance of web applications, especially on slower networks.

amCharts features and specs

  • Comprehensive Feature Set
    amCharts offers a wide range of chart types and features, including line charts, bar charts, area charts, and advanced ones like geographical maps and time-series charts.
  • Ease of Use
    The library provides a user-friendly API, making it easier for developers to create and customize charts without extensive coding.
  • Customizability
    amCharts allows a high degree of customization, letting developers tweak almost every aspect of the charts, including colors, labels, and interactivity options.
  • Responsive Design
    Charts created with amCharts are responsive, automatically adjusting to different screen sizes and resolutions.
  • Interactive Elements
    amCharts supports interactive elements like tooltips, drill-downs, and animations which enhance user engagement and data exploration.
  • Extensive Documentation
    The library comes with detailed documentation and a variety of tutorials and samples, making it easier for new users to get started quickly.
  • Community and Support
    There is an active community and official support available, providing assistance through forums and direct support channels.
  • Export Capability
    amCharts provides exporting options, allowing users to export charts as images, PDFs, or data files.

Possible disadvantages of amCharts

  • Cost
    While amCharts offers a free version, the more advanced features and commercial usage require a paid license, which may not be suitable for all budgets.
  • Learning Curve
    Despite an intuitive API, the vast array of customization options can present a steep learning curve for new users.
  • Performance
    For extremely large datasets, the performance might lag compared to some other specialized charting libraries, which could be critical in data-intensive applications.
  • File Size
    Due to its extensive feature set, the library's file size can be relatively large, which might impact the load time of webpages.
  • Dependency on External Libraries
    Certain functionalities in amCharts may depend on additional external libraries, which could complicate the setup process.
  • Browser Compatibility
    While generally good, there may be occasional compatibility issues with older or less common browsers.
  • Complexity for Simple Charts
    For developers needing only simple charts, amCharts might be overkill and thus add unnecessary complexity.

Analysis of C3.js

Overall verdict

  • Yes, C3.js is a good choice for creating charts and graphs for most web applications. It offers a combination of ease of use and flexibility, which is appealing to both novice and experienced developers.

Why this product is good

  • C3.js is a D3-based chart library that simplifies the process of creating dynamic, reusable charts. It provides a variety of chart types with minimal configuration required, and its API is designed to be intuitive and easy to use. This makes it a good choice for developers who want to leverage the power of D3.js without dealing with its complexity.

Recommended for

    Developers looking for a straightforward way to create dynamic charts with customizable options, businesses needing reliable charting for data visualization, and projects where a quick setup with a steep learning curve is crucial.

Analysis of amCharts

Overall verdict

  • Yes, amCharts is generally considered a good option for data visualization, particularly due to its ease of use, customization capabilities, and extensive support resources. Many users appreciate its intuitive API and the ability to create visually appealing and interactive charts and dashboards without much hassle.

Why this product is good

  • amCharts is a popular choice for creating interactive charts and maps. It offers a wide range of chart types, from simple ones like line and bar charts to more complex types such as spatial maps and gauges. The library is highly customizable and provides extensive documentation along with examples, making it accessible for both beginners and experienced developers. Additionally, amCharts supports real-time data updates and is compatible with various frameworks and platforms, enhancing its versatility.

Recommended for

    amCharts is recommended for web developers and data analysts who need to present data in a visually compelling way on web applications. It is particularly useful for businesses and organizations requiring interactive and dynamic charting capabilities, such as those in financial analysis, marketing analytics, and scientific research.

C3.js videos

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amCharts videos

Amcharts 4 Line Chart in ASP.NET MVC

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to C3.js and amCharts)
Charting Libraries
36 36%
64% 64
Data Visualization
25 25%
75% 75
Data Dashboard
29 29%
71% 71
Diagrams
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare C3.js and amCharts

C3.js Reviews

5 top picks for JavaScript chart libraries
C3.js is another easy-to-use JavaScript library for creating charts. It uses the D3 graphics library, so to create a chart with it, we’ll need both D3 and the C3 library itself.

amCharts Reviews

Top 10 JavaScript Charting Libraries for Every Data Visualization Need
amCharts is one of the JavaScript charting libraries that are helpful when you need a simple, and at the same time, flexible data visualization solution.
Source: hackernoon.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, C3.js seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 11 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

C3.js mentions (11)

  • Tracking Real-time GitHub Dashboard Commits
    The dashboard is a mashup of GitHub, the PubNub Data Stream Network, and D3 chart visualizations powered by C3.js. When a commit is pushed to GitHub, the commit metadata is posted to a small Heroku instance which publishes it to the PubNub network. We’re hosting on dashboard page on GitHub pages. - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
  • Graph libraries
    I've been using https://c3js.org/ forever with vue. Works with v3 just fine. However, I'm very interested to see what others are using. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Teclis – Non-commercial web search
    Yes! I found https://c3js.org/ which is exactly what I want for my personal project. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • [OC] I spent the last 18 months of lockdown pouring my soul into a website that allows you to visualize virtually every U.S. company's international supply chain. E.g. What products, how much, which factories and where does Walmart import from? (Just type a company in the search box)
    C3.js is actually something that I like to use on top of D3, specifically for POC's and things like that. It wraps the D3 code in something a little more semantic, provides an API for updating the chart/data, and makes the UI easier to style after the chart is generated. Purely a preference thing, but might be useful in some cases. Source: over 3 years ago
  • [C3.js][TypeScript] Draw line charts 1
    C3.js | D3-based reusable chart library. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
View more

amCharts mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of amCharts yet. Tracking of amCharts recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing C3.js and amCharts, you can also consider the following products

UMLGraph - UMLGraph is a professional automated drawing tool that allows the designers the declarative specification and drawing of UML class and sequence diagram.

D3.js - D3.js is a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data. D3 helps you bring data to life using HTML, SVG, and CSS.

Highcharts - A charting library written in pure JavaScript, offering an easy way of adding interactive charts to your web site or web application

Dia - Dia is a GTK+ based diagram creation program for GNU/Linux, MacOS X, Unix, and Windows, and is released under the GPL license.

Chart.js - Easy, object oriented client side graphs for designers and developers.

yEd - yEd is a free desktop application to quickly create, import, edit, and automatically arrange diagrams. It runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Unix/Linux.