Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

D3.js VS RAWGraphs

Compare D3.js VS RAWGraphs and see what are their differences

D3.js logo 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.

RAWGraphs logo RAWGraphs

RAWGraphs is an open source app built with the goal of making the visualization of complex data...
  • D3.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-11

D3 allows you to bind arbitrary data to a Document Object Model (DOM), and then apply data-driven transformations to the document. For example, you can use D3 to generate an HTML table from an array of numbers. Or, use the same data to create an interactive SVG bar chart with smooth transitions and interaction.

D3 is not a monolithic framework that seeks to provide every conceivable feature. Instead, D3 solves the crux of the problem: efficient manipulation of documents based on data. This avoids proprietary representation and affords extraordinary flexibility, exposing the full capabilities of web standards such as HTML, SVG, and CSS. With minimal overhead, D3 is extremely fast, supporting large datasets and dynamic behaviors for interaction and animation. D3’s functional style allows code reuse through a diverse collection of official and community-developed modules.

  • RAWGraphs Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-16

D3.js features and specs

  • Powerful Visualization
    D3.js allows for the creation of highly customized and interactive data visualizations, harnessing the full power of web standards like SVG, Canvas, and HTML.
  • Data Binding
    It offers robust support for data-driven transformations and binding, enabling intuitive connections between data sets and DOM elements.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    A large and active community contributes to tutorials, plugins, and tools, which can significantly simplify the development process.
  • Flexibility
    D3.js is highly flexible, providing low-level manipulation capabilities without being tied to any specific chart types or patterns.
  • Performance
    It is highly optimized for performance, allowing for efficient rendering of complex visualizations even with large data sets.

Possible disadvantages of D3.js

  • Steep Learning Curve
    D3.js has a steep learning curve due to its low-level nature and requires a solid understanding of JavaScript, DOM manipulation, and data concepts.
  • Complexity
    Creating complex visualizations can be time-consuming and require a significant amount of custom code, making it less approachable for quick, simple tasks.
  • Browser Compatibility
    Although widely supported, some D3.js features may have inconsistent behavior across different browsers, requiring additional testing and debugging.
  • Documentation
    While extensive, D3.js documentation can be challenging for beginners to navigate and understand, causing misunderstandings and slower development times.
  • Dependency Management
    The library itself is modular, but managing dependencies and integrating D3.js with other JavaScript frameworks or libraries can sometimes be problematic.

RAWGraphs features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    RAWGraphs provides an intuitive drag and drop interface, making it accessible for users with various technical skills.
  • Open Source
    Being open source, RAWGraphs allows for customization and community contributions, promoting transparency and flexibility.
  • Supports Multiple Data Formats
    RAWGraphs supports a variety of input formats like CSV, TSV, JSON, etc., enhancing its adaptability to different data sources.
  • Extensive Visualization Types
    Offers a wide range of visualization types such as bar graphs, scatter plots, and network graphs, catering to diverse analytical needs.
  • No Installation Required
    As a web-based tool, it does not require any installation, making it easy to access and use anywhere with an internet connection.
  • Export Options
    Allows exporting visualizations in vector (SVG) and raster (PNG) formats, which is valuable for high-quality reporting and presentations.

Possible disadvantages of RAWGraphs

  • Limited Interactivity
    Visualizations created with RAWGraphs are generally static, lacking advanced interactive features found in other tools.
  • Performance with Large Datasets
    May struggle with performance issues when handling very large datasets, which can limit its use for extensive data analytics.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While basic functionalities are user-friendly, leveraging advanced features and customizations may require a steeper learning curve.
  • Dependency on Internet
    As a web-based application, it requires an internet connection to function, which can be a limitation in restricted or offline environments.
  • Limited Data Manipulation
    Provides basic data manipulation features, but lacks the depth and complexity available in specialized data processing tools.
  • Support and Documentation
    As an open-source project, it may not have the extensive support and documentation available with commercial visualization tools.

D3.js videos

Data Visualization with D3.js - Full Tutorial Course

More videos:

  • Review - Let's learn D3.js - D3 for data visualization (full course)

RAWGraphs videos

RawGraphs Walkthrough

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to D3.js and RAWGraphs)
Charting Libraries
78 78%
22% 22
Data Dashboard
73 73%
27% 27
Data Visualization
76 76%
24% 24
Javascript UI Libraries
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using D3.js and RAWGraphs. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare D3.js and RAWGraphs

D3.js Reviews

6 JavaScript Charting Libraries for Powerful Data Visualizations in 2023
Depending on your requirements, the best JavaScript library is D3.js, as it’s by far the most customizable. However, it’s also really complex and difficult to master. Plus, it’s not as compatible with TypeScript as it is with JavaScript, which can be off-putting for some developers. If you’d prefer a less complex library that you can use with TypeScript, ECharts, and...
Source: embeddable.com
15 JavaScript Libraries for Creating Beautiful Charts
When we think of charting today, D3.js is the first name that comes up. Being an open source project, D3.js definitely brings many powerful features that were missing in most of the existing libraries. Features like dynamic properties, Enter and Exit, powerful transitions, and syntax familiarity with jQuery make it one the best JavaScript libraries for charting. Charts in...
Top 20 Javascript Libraries
D3 stands for Data-Driven Documents. With D3, you can apply data-driven transformations to DOM objects. The keyword with D3 is ‘data-driven,’ which means documents are manipulated depending on the data received. Data can be received in any format and bound with DOM objects. D3 is very fast and supports dynamic behavior for animation and interactions. There are plenty of...
Source: hackr.io
20+ JavaScript libraries to draw your own diagrams (2022 edition)
D3.js is a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data. Right now, I would say is the most popular library of its kind.
15 data science tools to consider using in 2021
Another open source tool, D3.js is a JavaScript library for creating custom data visualizations in a web browser. Commonly known as D3, which stands for Data-Driven Documents, it uses web standards, such as HTML, Scalable Vector Graphics and CSS, instead of its own graphical vocabulary. D3's developers describe it as a dynamic and flexible tool that requires a minimum amount...

RAWGraphs Reviews

Top 10 Tableau Open Source Alternatives: A Comprehensive List
RAWGraphs is an open-source Data Visualization tool designed to make visualizing complex data simple for everyone. The primary goal of RAWGraphs is to provide a tool that allows people who do not have the technical/coding expertise to create visualizations on their own. Originally designed to help graphic designers complete a set of tasks that were not available in other...
Source: hevodata.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, D3.js seems to be a lot more popular than RAWGraphs. While we know about 167 links to D3.js, we've tracked only 5 mentions of RAWGraphs. 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.

D3.js mentions (167)

  • IO Devices and Latency
    Do you mean something for data visualization, or tricks condensing large data sets with cursors? https://d3js.org/ Best of luck =3. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • 2024 Nuxt3 Annual Ecosystem Summary🚀
    Document address: D3.js Official Document. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • 100+ Must-Have Web Development Resources
    D3.js: One of the most popular JavaScript visualization libraries. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • What are npm Peer Dependencies and how to use them?
    A Dependency is an npm package that our code depends on in order to be able to run. Some popular packages that can be added as dependencies are lodash, D3, and chartjs. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Introducing RacingBars 📊
    RacingBars is an open-source, light-weight (~45kb gzipped), easy-to-use, and feature-rich javascript library for bar chart race, based on D3.js. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
View more

RAWGraphs mentions (5)

  • Interview synthesis tools?
    Go back through a second time Code themes / pull insights/ double check for keywords tag accuracy Use Dovetail’s “charts” to review various tags (it will show you how many tags per word in various chart options, none are great.) Export desired csv’s from Dovetail Charts to free online data viz software like https://rawgraphs.io Boom. I’m sure there are better ways but that’s what I got! Source: about 3 years ago
  • What type/style of chart is this?
    Sankey is probably the most common name (after Captain Matthew Henry Phineas Riall Sankey who apparently made them to study energy flows in steam engines). But I've also heard it referred to as an alluvial diagram, for example in https://rawgraphs.io/. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Show HN: I made a data visualization desktop app
    This seems quite similar to RawGraphs: https://rawgraphs.io/ Both seem to provide a similar interface for dragging in a CSV file and constructing a chart, but RawGraphs is open-source, and can be used in the browser without installing anything (or the code can be downloaded and served locally). The main advantage of Daigo over RawGraphs seems to be that it supports publishing multiple charts as a dashboard.... - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • [OC] Latin America’s biggest airports had been growing steadily. With Covid, it all changed.
    Tools: Excel, Rawgraphs, Affinity Designer. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Self-hosted solution for easy data visualization?
    Take a look at https://rawgraphs.io/. Source: almost 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing D3.js and RAWGraphs, you can also consider the following products

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

Plotly - Low-Code Data Apps

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

Tableau - Tableau can help anyone see and understand their data. Connect to almost any database, drag and drop to create visualizations, and share with a click.

Google Charts - Interactive charts for browsers and mobile devices.

Pixi.js - Fast lightweight 2D library that works across all devices