Chartist vs Recharts
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A small JavaScript library that draws simple, responsive SVG charts styled with CSS.
Open source · MIT
A React charting library built on D3 for drawing charts from declarative components.
The short answer
Choose Chartist if you need…
- Web developers adding simple line, bar or pie charts to a site
- Teams that want to style charts with plain CSS
- Projects that prefer no build step, using a native ES module from a CDN
- Developers who want charts rendered on a server as SVG for PDFs or email
Choose Recharts if you need…
- React developers who need standard charts such as line, bar or similar graphs in a web app
- Teams that prefer declarative, component-based chart code
- Single-page applications installed through npm
- Developers who want SVG-based charts with minimal dependencies
Side-by-side
| Chartist | Recharts | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 13.5k | 27.7k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last code update | 5 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
Chartist
Chartist is a JavaScript library for drawing charts on web pages. It renders charts as SVG, so they scale to fit their container, and you style them with ordinary CSS. It is aimed at people who want a lightweight, readable charting option without a large framework.
Recharts
Recharts is a charting library for React applications, built on top of D3. You draw charts by composing React components such as a line chart, axes, a grid and a tooltip, each of which is a separate part you can combine. It renders charts as native SVG and is aimed at making charts in React apps straightforward.
Best for
Chartist
- Web developers adding simple line, bar or pie charts to a site
- Teams that want to style charts with plain CSS
- Projects that prefer no build step, using a native ES module from a CDN
- Developers who want charts rendered on a server as SVG for PDFs or email
Recharts
- React developers who need standard charts such as line, bar or similar graphs in a web app
- Teams that prefer declarative, component-based chart code
- Single-page applications installed through npm
- Developers who want SVG-based charts with minimal dependencies
Strengths
Chartist
- Charts are plain SVG styled with CSS, which is easy to customize
- Written in TypeScript with no dependencies, and you ship only what you import
- Works without a bundler as a native ES module
Recharts
- Declarative API where each chart part is an independent React component
- Native SVG output with a stated focus on being lightweight with minimal dependencies
- MIT licensed with active development and a documentation site and storybook
Not ideal for
Chartist
- People who need many advanced chart types or built-in interactivity, since the README focuses on core simple charts
- Users of Chartist 0.x or 1.x wrappers who need a fully supported path, since the README notes some wrappers still target older versions
- Beginners with no web development experience, since the examples assume HTML and JavaScript familiarity
Recharts
- Non-programmers who want to make charts without code, since it requires writing React components
- Projects not using React, because the library is built around React components
- Very large datasets needing canvas or GPU rendering, since the README only describes SVG support
Trade-offs
Chartist
- The README says 1.x classes are deprecated and will be removed in 3.0, so migration may be needed for older code
- Some community wrappers were built for older Chartist versions and may need workarounds
- The README does not list every chart type or feature, so check the docs for specifics
Recharts
- Only suited to React projects, so it does not fit other frameworks by default
- Installation asks you to also install react-is matching your React version, an extra step for beginners
- The README excerpt provides limited detail on specific chart types and advanced options; see the docs site
Getting started
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Chartist and Recharts?
Chartist: A small JavaScript library that draws simple, responsive SVG charts styled with CSS. Recharts: A React charting library built on D3 for drawing charts from declarative components. Chartist suits web developers adding simple line, bar or pie charts to a site, while Recharts suits react developers who need standard charts such as line, bar or similar graphs in a web app.
Are Chartist and Recharts free?
Chartist: Free and open source. Recharts: Free and open source.
Is Chartist or Recharts more popular?
Recharts has more GitHub stars (27.7k) than Chartist (13.5k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Chartist and Recharts?
Other options people compare them with include Chart.js, Plotly.js, nivo, visx, shadcn/ui.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.