Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Plotly VS DreamFactory

Compare Plotly VS DreamFactory and see what are their differences

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Plotly logo Plotly

Low-Code Data Apps

DreamFactory logo DreamFactory

DreamFactory is an API management platform used to generate, secure, document, and extend APIs.
  • Plotly Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-31
  • DreamFactory Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-10-01

DreamFactory is an API management platform used to generate, secure, document, and extend APIs. The platform is used within a wide variety of sectors, including banking, auto manufacturing, online gaming, consulting, and government.

Perhaps best known for its API generation capabilities, the platform can generate APIs for 20 databases including MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and MongoDB, among others. Generators are also available for Excel, AWS S3, email delivery providers, and IoT.

Authentication and security is another core feature. APIs can be authenticated using API keys, Active Directory, LDAP, OAuth, OpenID Connect, SAML 2.0, and Okta. A robust yet convenient set of role-based access controls (RBACs) allow administrators to easily create highly tailored API access rules.

DreamFactory's scripting engine supports PHP, Python (version 2 and 3) and NodeJS. Developers can use the engine to create entirely scripted APIs which incorporate third-party libraries and packages. The scripting engine can also be used to extend existing endpoints, allowing developers to implement API composition, apply data masking and hiding, response transformation, and more.

Recently added features include restricted administrators, API scheduling, API auditing, and API generation connectors for Snowflake, Hadoop, and Apache Hive.

Plotly features and specs

  • Interactivity
    Plotly offers highly interactive plots that allow users to pan, zoom, and hover over data points for more information. This enhances the user experience and provides deeper insights.
  • High-quality visualizations
    It provides aesthetically pleasing and highly customizable charts, making it suitable for publication-quality visuals.
  • Versatility
    Plotly supports multiple chart types including line charts, scatter plots, bar charts, and 3D plots, making it suitable for a wide range of applications.
  • Python integration
    Plotly is well-integrated with Python and works seamlessly with other popular data science libraries like Pandas, NumPy, and Scikit-learn.
  • Web-based
    The plots can be easily embedded in web applications or dashboards, making it ideal for sharing insights over the internet.
  • Open-source
    Plotly offers an open-source version, which allows users to create and share visualizations without any cost.

Possible disadvantages of Plotly

  • Performance
    Rendering very large datasets can sometimes be slow, which may not be suitable for real-time data visualization requirements.
  • Learning curve
    Even though the library is well-documented, the extensive range of features can have a steep learning curve for beginners.
  • Cost for advanced features
    While the basic functionality is free, more advanced features, such as export to certain formats and additional customizable options, require a paid subscription.
  • Dependency management
    Plotly has a number of dependencies that need to be managed properly, which can sometimes complicate the setup process.
  • Complexity
    For simple visualizations, Plotly might be overkill and simpler libraries like Matplotlib or Seaborn could be more appropriate.

DreamFactory features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    DreamFactory offers a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to create, manage, and deploy APIs without extensive coding skills.
  • Automatic API Generation
    Generates REST APIs for various data sources automatically, saving development time and reducing potential errors.
  • Wide Database Support
    Supports numerous databases and storage engines, including SQL, NoSQL, and file storage systems, providing great flexibility.
  • Scalability
    Can handle enterprise-level projects, ensuring that APIs can scale easily with growing business needs.
  • Security Features
    Includes robust security features like role-based access, OAuth, Single Sign-On (SSO), and API key management.
  • Cross-Platform
    Works on multiple platforms including Linux, Windows, and Mac, making it versatile for different development environments.
  • Integrations
    Supports integration with numerous third-party services and software, facilitating seamless business operations.
  • Open Source Option
    Offers an open-source version, providing more flexibility and cost savings for developers and organizations.

Possible disadvantages of DreamFactory

  • Learning Curve
    Even though it's user-friendly, there is still a learning curve involved, especially for beginners not familiar with API management.
  • Pricing
    While an open-source version is available, advanced features and enterprise-level support require a paid subscription, which can be costly.
  • Performance Overhead
    In some cases, the additional layers of abstraction can add overhead, potentially affecting performance.
  • Complexity in Advanced Use Cases
    For highly complex or custom scenarios, limitations may arise, requiring additional custom development.
  • Limited Extensions
    Compared to some competitors, the ecosystem of plugins and extensions may be less extensive.
  • Community Support
    The open-source community around DreamFactory is not as large as some other projects, which may limit peer support and available resources.
  • Concurrency Handling
    May require additional configuration or optimization to handle high concurrency situations effectively.

Analysis of Plotly

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Plotly is a strong choice for those looking to create dynamic and interactive data visualizations, thanks to its range of features and ease of integration with web technologies.

Why this product is good

  • Plotly is considered good because it offers a comprehensive suite of tools for creating interactive visualizations that can be used in web applications, reports, and dashboards. It supports many different types of plots, is easy to use for both beginners and experienced developers, and integrates well with popular programming languages like Python, R, and JavaScript.

Recommended for

    Plotly is recommended for data scientists, analysts, and developers who need to create interactive and visually appealing data visualizations. It's particularly useful for those who work with Python or R and want the ability to embed their visualizations in web applications or dashboards.

Analysis of DreamFactory

Overall verdict

  • Overall, DreamFactory is a solid choice for developers and organizations looking for a comprehensive and efficient way to manage API generation and backend development. Its ease of use, wide range of features, and support for numerous data sources make it highly recommended for those seeking to simplify their development workflow.

Why this product is good

  • DreamFactory is considered a good option for creating robust and scalable REST APIs because it automates a lot of backend processes, allowing developers to focus on their core application logic. It offers features like API management, user authentication, role-based access control, and data integration with various databases and cloud services, which streamline the development process. Additionally, DreamFactory supports multiple scripting languages, providing flexibility and customization options that suit different use cases.

Recommended for

    DreamFactory is particularly recommended for developers who need to quickly generate APIs without spending extensive time managing backend infrastructure. It is suitable for small to medium-sized enterprises, independent developers, and teams that require rapid prototyping and development. Organizations looking for a solution to manage multiple data resources and integrate various third-party services can also greatly benefit from DreamFactory's capabilities.

Plotly videos

Create Real-time Chart with Javascript | Plotly.js Tutorial

More videos:

  • Review - Introducing plotly.py 3.0
  • Review - Is Plotly The Better Matplotlib?
  • Tutorial - Plotly Tutorial 2021
  • Review - Data Visualization as The First and Last Mile of Data Science Plotly Express and Dash | SciPy 2021

DreamFactory videos

No DreamFactory videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Plotly and DreamFactory)
Data Visualization
100 100%
0% 0
API Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Data Dashboard
100 100%
0% 0
APIs
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 Plotly and DreamFactory

Plotly Reviews

Best 8 Redash Alternatives in 2023 [In Depth Guide]
Plotly is specifically designed for companies who want to build and deploy analytic applications like dashboards using Python, Julia, or R without needing DevOps or Javascript developers.
Source: www.datapad.io
5 Best Python Libraries For Data Visualization in 2023
Plotly is a web-based data visualization toolkit that comes with unique functionalities such as dendrograms, 3D charts, and also contour plots, which is not very common in other libraries. It has a great API offering scatter plots, line charts, bar charts, error bars, box plots, and other visualizations. Plotly can even be accessed from a Python Notebook.
Top 8 Python Libraries for Data Visualization
Plotly is a free open-source graphing library that can be used to form data visualizations. Plotly (plotly.py) is built on top of the Plotly JavaScript library (plotly.js) and can be used to create web-based data visualizations that can be displayed in Jupyter notebooks or web applications using Dash or saved as individual HTML files. Plotly provides more than 40 unique...
5 top picks for JavaScript chart libraries
Plotly is a graphing library that’s available for various runtime environments, including the browser. It supports many kinds of charts and graphs that we can configure with a variety of options.

DreamFactory Reviews

7 Best NoSQL APIs
DreamFactory is a great choice for developers or businesses who want to create a quick API to work with a NoSQL database. The process couldn’t be easier. Developers only need to provide the database information, and DreamFactory automatically creates a full-fledged REST API or a SOAP API.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Plotly seems to be a lot more popular than DreamFactory. While we know about 33 links to Plotly, we've tracked only 1 mention of DreamFactory. 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.

Plotly mentions (33)

  • Python for Data Visualization: Best Tools and Practices
    Plotly is perfect for interactive visualizations. You can create interactive charts and graphs that allow users to hover, click, and zoom in. Plotly is also great for web-based visuals, making it easy to share your findings online. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Generative AI Powered QnA & Visualization Chatbot
    Front End: A React application that leverages React-Chatbotify library to easily integrate a chatbot GUI. It also uses the Plotly library to display the charts/visualizations. The generative AI implementation and details are entirely abstracted from the front end. The front-end application depends on a single REST endpoint of the backend application. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Build a Stock Dashboard in less than 40 lines of Python code!🤓
    In this tutorial, Mariya Sha will guide you through building a stock value dashboard using Taipy, Plotly, and a dataset from Kaggle. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Essential Deep Learning Checklist: Best Practices Unveiled
    How to Accomplish: Utilize visualization libraries like Matplotlib, Seaborn, or Plotly in Python to create histograms, scatter plots, and bar charts. For image data, use tools that visualize images alongside their labels to check for labeling accuracy. For structured data, correlation matrices and pair plots can be highly informative. - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
  • Python equivalent to power bi/power query?
    For dashboards: - https://plotly.com/ is probably my favourite, but there are others like streamlit, voila and others... Source: over 1 year ago
View more

DreamFactory mentions (1)

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Plotly and DreamFactory, you can also consider the following products

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.

Postman - The Collaboration Platform for API Development

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

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform - Anypoint Platform is a unified, highly productive, hybrid integration platform that creates an application network of apps, data and devices with API-led connectivity.

RAWGraphs - RAWGraphs is an open source app built with the goal of making the visualization of complex data...

AWS CloudTrail - AWS CloudTrail is a web service that records AWS API calls for your account and delivers log files to you.