Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

NVD3 VS D3.js

Compare NVD3 VS D3.js and see what are their differences

NVD3 logo NVD3

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

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.
  • NVD3 Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-31
  • 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.

NVD3 features and specs

  • Reusable Charts
    NVD3 provides a variety of pre-built chart types that are easy to reuse and customize, saving developers time when creating standard visualization needs.
  • Based on D3.js
    Utilizing D3.js ensures a high level of flexibility and the ability to integrate complex data manipulations with aesthetic chart outputs.
  • Ease of Use
    NVD3 simplifies the process of generating complex visualizations by providing an intuitive API for interacting with D3.js charts.
  • Responsive Design
    Many of the chart components are designed with responsiveness in mind, allowing them to adjust to different screen sizes and devices.

Possible disadvantages of NVD3

  • Limited Updates
    NVD3 is not frequently updated, which may lead to compatibility issues or lack of support for newer web technologies.
  • Learning Curve
    While it simplifies some aspects of D3.js, users still need to have a solid understanding of D3.js to fully leverage NVD3's capabilities, which can be steep for new users.
  • Limited Customization
    Compared to directly using D3.js, NVD3 offers a more limited range of customization options for charts, potentially restricting designers looking for highly unique visualizations.
  • Documentation Quality
    The documentation for NVD3 can be sparse or outdated, making it harder for developers to troubleshoot issues or learn best practices.

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.

NVD3 videos

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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)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to NVD3 and D3.js)
Charting Libraries
14 14%
86% 86
Data Dashboard
10 10%
90% 90
Data Visualization
8 8%
92% 92
Javascript UI Libraries
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare NVD3 and D3.js

NVD3 Reviews

The Best Data Visualization Tools - Top 30 BI Software
This project is an attempt to build reusable charts and chart components for d3.js without taking away the power that d3.js gives you. The goal of the project is to keep all your charts neat and customizable. NVD3 is developed by the front end engineers at Novus Partners and uses their insight in charting technology.
Source: improvado.io

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...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, D3.js seems to be a lot more popular than NVD3. While we know about 167 links to D3.js, we've tracked only 1 mention of NVD3. 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.

NVD3 mentions (1)

  • Widely Used Data Display and Analysis Libraries
    NVD3 is also on the list of the most popular libraries. Built upon D3.js like the others above, it does have a solid technical base. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago

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 / 9 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing NVD3 and D3.js, you can also consider the following products

Plotly - Low-Code Data Apps

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

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

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

Google Charts - Interactive charts for browsers and mobile devices.

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