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dc.js VS Highcharts

Compare dc.js VS Highcharts and see what are their differences

dc.js logo dc.js

dc.js is a JavaScript charting library

Highcharts logo Highcharts

A charting library written in pure JavaScript, offering an easy way of adding interactive charts to your web site or web application
  • dc.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-11-10
  • Highcharts Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-16

dc.js features and specs

  • High-level visualization
    dc.js provides an easy-to-use, high-level API for creating interactive charts, allowing for quick development of data visualization applications by abstracting complex D3.js operations.
  • Integration with Crossfilter
    dc.js is built to work seamlessly with Crossfilter, enabling efficient handling and filtering of large datasets in real-time, making data interactions fast and highly responsive.
  • Interactivity
    Provides a range of interactive features such as brushing, linking, and filtering across multiple charts, enhancing the user experience by allowing dynamic exploration of data.
  • Open Source
    dc.js is open-source and actively maintained by the community, allowing users to contribute to its development, report issues, and customize it to their needs.

Possible disadvantages of dc.js

  • Learning Curve
    Despite being easier than raw D3.js, dc.js still has a moderate learning curve, particularly for those unfamiliar with D3.js or Crossfilter concepts.
  • Limited Customization
    While dc.js simplifies chart creation, it limits customization compared to D3.js, as it abstracts many underlying operations, which might not be suitable for highly custom visualizations.
  • Dependency on Other Libraries
    dc.js relies on D3.js and Crossfilter.js, meaning that users need to include and understand these dependencies to fully leverage dc.js's capabilities.
  • Performance Issues with Huge Datasets
    Despite Crossfilter’s efficiencies, handling extremely large datasets can lead to performance bottlenecks, especially in client-side applications.

Highcharts features and specs

  • Customization
    Highcharts provides extensive options to customize chart appearance and functionality, allowing for a tailored and specific data visualization experience.
  • Cross-Browser Compatibility
    Highcharts ensures compatibility across a wide range of browsers, making charts accessible to users regardless of their browser preferences.
  • Wide Range of Chart Types
    Offers a broad spectrum of chart types, including line, bar, pie, scatter, and more, catering to various data visualization needs.
  • Interactive Features
    Includes numerous interactive features such as tooltips, zooming, and clickable points, enhancing user engagement with the data.
  • Strong Community and Support
    Has an active community and provides extensive documentation, forums, and professional support options to assist users in overcoming challenges.
  • Performance
    Optimized for high performance, allowing for the rendering of large datasets without significant lag or performance issues.
  • Exporting and Sharing
    Built-in options for exporting charts to various formats (PNG, JPEG, PDF, etc.) and sharing them easily.

Possible disadvantages of Highcharts

  • Cost
    Highcharts is not free for commercial use, which may be a drawback for small businesses or individual developers with limited budgets.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    Despite comprehensive documentation, the abundance of features and customization options can result in a steeper learning curve for new users.
  • Dependency on JavaScript
    As a JavaScript library, Highcharts requires a solid understanding of JavaScript, making it less accessible for developers not familiar with the language.
  • Limited Free Support
    While there is a free support forum, professional support options are paid, which can be a limitation for users needing urgent assistance without extra costs.
  • Mobile Responsiveness
    Although Highcharts provides some support for mobile responsiveness, achieving optimal performance and displays on all device types may require additional customization.

dc.js videos

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Highcharts videos

Angular 2 & HighCharts Quick-Tip: Dynamic Data & Draggable Points (2016)

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to define the custom colors for Highcharts?
  • Review - Data Visualization HighCharts

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to dc.js and Highcharts)
Charting Libraries
12 12%
88% 88
Data Dashboard
0 0%
100% 100
Development
100 100%
0% 0
Data Visualization
5 5%
95% 95

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Reviews

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

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Highcharts Reviews

6 JavaScript Charting Libraries for Powerful Data Visualizations in 2023
However, you might need to pay for additional packages to get exactly what you’re looking for. The Highcharts Core package includes all the essentials (like line, bar, area, and pie charts) but Maps, Gantt, and Stock chart packages are all extra. In terms of cost, this makes Highcharts somewhat less scalable, depending on the budget available for your project.
Source: embeddable.com
15 JavaScript Libraries for Creating Beautiful Charts
Highcharts is another very popular library for building graphs. It comes loaded with many different types of cool animations that are sufficient to attract many eyeballs to your website. Just like other libraries, Highcharts comes with many pre-built graphs like spline, area, areaspline, column, bar, pie, scatter, etc. The charts are responsive and mobile-ready. Besides,...
Best Data Visualization Tools
For companies that want to embed interactive visualizations in their online content, look no further than Datawrapper. Highcharts is another great option for embedding interactive content into your sites, though it’s not as easy for non-specialists as Datawrapper.
Source: neilpatel.com
Top 10 JavaScript Charting Libraries for Every Data Visualization Need
Highcharts is one of the most comprehensive and popular JavaScript charting libraries based on HTML5, rendering in SVG/VML. It is lightweight, supports a wide range of diverse chart types, and ensures high performance.
Source: hackernoon.com
The Best Data Visualization Tools - Top 30 BI Software
Highcharts is a battle-tested SVG-based, multi-platform charting library that has been actively developed since 2009. Its JavaScript API integrates easily, and features robust documentation, advanced responsiveness and industry-leading accessibility support. You can add interactive, mobile-optimized charts to your web and mobile projects. Charts are rendered in SVG and a VML...
Source: improvado.io

What are some alternatives?

When comparing dc.js and Highcharts, you can also consider the following products

ZoomCharts - Creating meaningful and aesthetically pleasing data visualizations and incorporating them into your projects is easy with the tools offered by ZoomCharts.

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.

ZingChart - ZingChart is a fast, modern, powerful JavaScript charting library for building animated, interactive charts and graphs. Bring on the big data!

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

NVD3 - This project is an attempt to build re-usable charts and chart components for d3.

Google Charts - Interactive charts for browsers and mobile devices.