Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Grapher VS Chart.js

Compare Grapher VS Chart.js and see what are their differences

Grapher logo Grapher

Put Grapher’s powerful graphing and data analysis features to the test and better understand your data. Learn about features and download a free trial.

Chart.js logo Chart.js

Easy, object oriented client side graphs for designers and developers.
  • Grapher Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-23
  • Chart.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-13

Grapher features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Grapher offers an intuitive user interface that makes it easy for both beginners and experienced users to create detailed graphs without a steep learning curve.
  • Variety of Graph Types
    It provides a wide range of graph types including 2D and 3D plots, catering to various scientific, engineering, and business needs.
  • Customization Options
    Grapher allows for extensive customization of graphs, enabling users to tailor visualizations to their specific requirements.
  • Data Import and Export
    The software supports importing and exporting data in multiple formats, facilitating seamless integration with other tools and datasets.
  • Comprehensive Support
    Grapher users benefit from a strong customer support system and extensive online resources including tutorials and community forums.

Possible disadvantages of Grapher

  • Cost
    Grapher is a paid software, which may be a barrier for individuals or small organizations with limited budgets.
  • System Requirements
    The software might have higher system requirements that could be challenging for users with older hardware.
  • Complexity for Advanced Features
    While easy to start with, using advanced features and functions may require additional learning and experience.
  • Limited Collaboration Features
    Grapher lacks certain collaboration features that might be useful for teams needing shared access to project files and data within the software.
  • Periodic Updates
    Frequent updates can be disruptive as users may have to adapt to new features or interface changes regularly.

Chart.js features and specs

  • Open Source
    Chart.js is open source and free to use, which makes it accessible for both personal and commercial projects without any licensing costs.
  • Ease of Use
    Chart.js is known for its simple and easy-to-use API. Developers can quickly create charts by just including the library and writing minimal JavaScript.
  • Lightweight
    The library is relatively lightweight compared to other charting libraries, which helps in maintaining the performance of web applications.
  • Responsive Design
    Charts created with Chart.js are responsive by default, ensuring that they look good on all devices, including desktops, tablets, and mobile phones.
  • Variety of Chart Types
    Chart.js supports a variety of chart types including line, bar, radar, pie, doughnut, and polar area charts, providing flexibility for different data visualization needs.
  • Customization
    Developers can customize the appearance of charts extensively through Chart.js options such as colors, labels, and tooltips.
  • Active Community
    Chart.js has an active community and a strong support base, which means that developers can easily find help, tutorials, and plugins to enhance functionality.

Possible disadvantages of Chart.js

  • Limited Advanced Features
    While Chart.js is good for basic and intermediate charting needs, it may lack some advanced features and customizations offered by more complex charting libraries like D3.js.
  • Performance Issues with Large Datasets
    Chart.js can struggle with performance when dealing with very large datasets or complex visualizations, which can result in slower rendering times.
  • Learning Curve for Customization
    Although the basic usage is straightforward, achieving deeper customizations can involve a steeper learning curve as it requires understanding the underlying JavaScript and options.
  • Limited Interactivity
    Interactivity options with Chart.js are somewhat limited compared to other libraries that offer more advanced interactive features.
  • Dependency on Canvas
    Charts are rendered using the HTML5 canvas element, which may not be as flexible as SVG-based rendering used by some other libraries.

Analysis of Grapher

Overall verdict

  • Grapher is a solid choice for professionals who need advanced graphing capabilities. Its comprehensive suite of features, reliability, and ease of use make it a favorite among users who require precise and customizable graphical representations of their data. While it may have a steeper learning curve for beginners, its powerful tools and flexibility make it a worthwhile investment for those in need of detailed data analysis and presentation.

Why this product is good

  • Grapher, developed by Golden Software, is a powerful graphing and analysis program designed for scientists, engineers, and business professionals. It is highly regarded for its versatility in handling complex data sets and producing a wide range of graph types, from simple line graphs to complex 3D surface plots. Users appreciate its user-friendly interface, robust features for customizing graphs, and its ability to import various data formats. The software also allows for extensive customization, providing users with the ability to tailor graphs to their exact specifications and professional standards.

Recommended for

    Grapher is particularly recommended for scientists, engineers, geologists, and business analysts who require accurate and customizable graphing solutions. It is also suitable for professionals who work with large volumes of data and need to produce professional-quality plots and visualizations for reports, presentations, or publications.

Analysis of Chart.js

Overall verdict

  • Chart.js is a good choice for developers looking for a straightforward solution to incorporate charts into their web projects. Its ease of use, comprehensive documentation, and active community support make it an excellent option for both beginners and experienced developers.

Why this product is good

  • Chart.js is a popular open-source library for creating charts and graphs in web applications. It is valued for its simplicity, ease of use, and ability to create responsive, interactive charts with minimal effort. The library supports a wide range of chart types, including line, bar, radar, doughnut, pie, polar area, bubble, and scatter charts. Chart.js also provides customization options, allowing developers to tailor the look and behavior of their charts to fit their specific needs.

Recommended for

  • Web developers who need to quickly implement charts in their applications.
  • Teams looking for a lightweight and performant charting library.
  • Projects where customization and responsiveness of charts are important.
  • Beginner developers who want to learn and implement basic data visualization techniques.

Grapher videos

Speed Grapher Review

More videos:

  • Review - Please Watch Speed Grapher - Kirblog 4/5/16
  • Review - Speed Grapher Review

Chart.js videos

1.3: Graphing with Chart.js - Working With Data & APIs in JavaScript

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to Build Ionic 4 Apps with Chart.js

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Grapher and Chart.js)
Data Visualization
19 19%
81% 81
Charting Libraries
0 0%
100% 100
Data Dashboard
16 16%
84% 84
Business Intelligence
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 Grapher and Chart.js

Grapher Reviews

We have no reviews of Grapher yet.
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Chart.js Reviews

6 JavaScript Charting Libraries for Powerful Data Visualizations in 2023
Of the free libraries on this list, ECharts has the widest range of chart types available, second only to D3. Unlike D3, ECharts also ranks highly on the user-friendliness scale, although some users find ApexCharts and Chart.js even easier to use. You can check out some examples of basic charts on ECharts.
Source: embeddable.com
5 top picks for JavaScript chart libraries
Chart.js is a chart library that is available as a client-side JavaScript package. There are also derivatives for other frontend frameworks, like React, Vue, and Angular. It displays the chart on an HTML canvas element.
Top 10 JavaScript Charting Libraries for Every Data Visualization Need
Chart.js is a simple yet quite flexible JavaScript library for data viz, popular among web designers and developers. It’s a great basic solution for those who don’t need lots of chart types and customization features but want their charts to look neat, clear and informative at a glance.
Source: hackernoon.com
A Complete Overview of the Best Data Visualization Tools
Chart.js uses HTML5 Canvas for output, so it renders charts well across all modern browsers. Charts created are also responsive, so it’s great for creating visualizations that are mobile-friendly.
Source: www.toptal.com
The Best Data Visualization Tools - Top 30 BI Software
Chart.js is better for smaller chart projects. It’s open source and small in size, supporting six different types of charts: bar, line, pie, radar, doughnut, and polar. You can also add or remove any of these 6 types to reduce your footprint. Chart.js uses HTML5 Canvas and ships with polyfills for IE6/7 support. Chart.js offers the ability to create simple charts quickly.
Source: improvado.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Chart.js seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 1 time 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.

Grapher mentions (0)

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

Chart.js mentions (1)

  • Chart library for Svelte?
    Https://chartjs.org works well, but you have to call the update function yourself if you want to do some reactive updates. Source: about 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Grapher and Chart.js, you can also consider the following products

SAP BusinessObjects Predictive Analytics - SAP Predictive Analytics software allows the user to create better and faster predictive results, deliver machine learning at scale using a factory approach and bring predictive insights where people interact _ in business processes and applications.

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.

Google Chart Tools - Google Chart Tools is a world’s most popular tool that allows users to display their data on their website via simple or attractive visualizations.

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

Google Data Studio - Data Studio turns your data into informative reports and dashboards that are easy to read, easy to share, and fully custom. Sign up for free.

Plotly - Low-Code Data Apps