Last week at Weavelinx, we were planning our next SaaS product. We were deep in the weeds considering which chart libraries to use alongside our Material Design system to improve the user experience. Honestly, selecting the right one was a headache.
There are so many new, modern libraries popping up, and on the other hand, you have the old, reliable options that have been around forever. We read a dozen blogs trying to find the optimal, free, modern, and reliable option, but most of them just listed the same tools we already knew or pushed expensive paid licenses.
So, we did our own thorough research. We found some gems that actually fit the modern web stack of 2026, and we thought we should share them with you. In this article, we’ve categorized these libraries by “niche” and focused mainly on open-source (free) tools. We’ll also recommend alternatives if you happen to be working on React, so this guide is useful regardless of your framework. Most of these play nicely with both.
Let’s just start.
The Modern & Trending (Top Recommendations)
Use these for new projects in 2026 where you want the latest tech and modular architecture.
1. Unovis (via @unovis/angular)
Best For: Minimalist, highly modular dashboards.
We love Unovis because it solves the “bloat” problem. It’s a modular visualization framework that separates data logic from visual logic. It’s lightweight, works beautifully with TypeScript, and because it relies on CSS variables for styling, it handles “Dark Mode” switching instantly without re-rendering the whole chart.
Why Use It: Framework-agnostic with a thin, effective Angular wrapper. Very clean architecture.
Verdict: Use this for a clean, professional SaaS UI.
React Alternative: Visx (by Airbnb).
Note: You can technically use Visx in Angular if you treat it as a collection of low-level D3 primitives, but it lacks a native Angular wrapper and is purpose-built for React’s component model. It’s often more pain than it’s worth in Angular compared to Unovis.
Example Usage: Unovis is modular, so you import only what you need.
// app.component.ts
import { Component } from '@angular/core';
import { VisXYContainerModule, VisLineModule, VisAxisModule } from '@unovis/angular';
@Component({
selector: 'app-root',
standalone: true,
imports: [VisXYContainerModule, VisLineModule, VisAxisModule],
template: `
<div style="height: 400px; width: 100%;">
<h3>Unovis Modular Chart</h3>
<vis-xy-container [data]="data" [height]="400">
<vis-line x="x" y="y" color="#4F46E5"></vis-line>
<vis-axis type="x" label="Days"></vis-axis>
<vis-axis type="y" label="Revenue"></vis-axis>
</vis-xy-container>
</div>
`
})
export class AppComponent {
data = [
{ x: 0, y: 10 },
{ x: 1, y: 25 },
{ x: 2, y: 40 },
{ x: 3, y: 35 },
{ x: 4, y: 60 }
];
}2. Lightweight Charts (by TradingView)
Best For: Crypto, Stock Market, and Real-Time data apps.
If performance is your #1 metric, this is the winner. It renders via HTML5 Canvas and stays buttery smooth (60fps) even when you are streaming live data to it on a mobile device. Because it relies on Canvas rather than the DOM, it’s incredibly battery-efficient for mobile applications—your phone won’t heat up even with a live Bitcoin ticker running.
Why Use It: Unbeatable performance for time-series data, especially on mobile devices where hardware resources are limited.
Why Avoid It: Limited chart types (Candlestick, Line, Area). No Pie or Radar charts here.
Verdict: Use this ONLY for time-series financial data.
Alternative: uPlot. It’s even smaller (~20KB) and faster, but the documentation is very sparse (“Spartan”) compared to TradingView.
Quick Demo: You can load this via CDN for a quick test.
<div id="tv-chart" style="position: relative; width: 100%; height: 400px; border: 1px solid #e0e3eb;"></div>
<script src="https://unpkg.com/[email protected]/dist/lightweight-charts.standalone.production.js"></script>
<script>
(function() {
// Ensure the library loaded
if (!window.LightweightCharts) {
document.getElementById('tv-chart').innerHTML = "Error: Library not loaded.";
return;
}
const chart = LightweightCharts.createChart(document.getElementById('tv-chart'), {
width: document.getElementById('tv-chart').clientWidth,
height: 400,
layout: { backgroundColor: '#ffffff', textColor: '#333' },
grid: { vertLines: { color: '#f0f3fa' }, horzLines: { color: '#f0f3fa' } },
});
const areaSeries = chart.addAreaSeries({
topColor: 'rgba(33, 150, 243, 0.56)',
bottomColor: 'rgba(33, 150, 243, 0.04)',
lineColor: 'rgba(33, 150, 243, 1)',
lineWidth: 2,
});
areaSeries.setData([
{ time: '2025-10-10', value: 20.01 },
{ time: '2025-10-11', value: 24.32 },
{ time: '2025-10-12', value: 22.05 },
{ time: '2025-10-13', value: 28.91 },
{ time: '2025-10-14', value: 30.12 },
]);
chart.timeScale().fitContent();
})();
</script>3. Carbon Charts (IBM)
Best For: Enterprise, Government, and Accessibility (a11y).
This comes from IBM’s massive Carbon Design System. It stands out because of its commitment to accessibility—screen reader support and keyboard navigation are built-in, not afterthoughts. It looks very “corporate” out of the box, which is perfect if you are building B2B tools.
Why Use It: Top-tier accessibility and a cohesive design system feel.
Verdict: Use this for corporate/B2B dashboards where compliance matters.
Angular Alternative: PatternFly. A strong contender if you are in the Red Hat/Kubernetes ecosystem, but Carbon has more chart variety.
import { Component } from '@angular/core';
import { ChartsModule } from '@carbon/charts-angular';
import { ScaleTypes } from '@carbon/charts/interfaces';
@Component({
selector: 'app-bar-chart',
standalone: true,
// Import the Carbon Charts Module here
imports: [ChartsModule],
template: `
<div class="chart-container">
<h3>Carbon Charts (Angular Native)</h3>
<ibm-simple-bar-chart
[data]="data"
[options]="options">
</ibm-simple-bar-chart>
</div>
`,
styles: [`
.chart-container {
padding: 2rem;
background: #fff; /* Ensure white background for visibility */
}
`]
})
export class BarChartComponent {
// 1. Define your dataset
data = [
{ group: 'Qty', value: 65000 },
{ group: 'More', value: 29123 },
{ group: 'Sold', value: 35213 },
{ group: 'Restocking', value: 51213 },
{ group: 'Misc', value: 16932 }
];
// 2. Define configuration options
options = {
title: 'Simple Bar (Discrete)',
axes: {
left: {
mapsTo: 'value'
},
bottom: {
mapsTo: 'group',
scaleType: ScaleTypes.LABELS
}
},
height: '400px'
};
}4. Observable Plot
Best For: Data Science, Analytics, and “Journalism” style charts.
This is the “shorthand” for D3, created by the same author (Mike Bostock). It allows you to create complex statistical visuals—like dot plots or box plots—with incredibly short code. It focuses on analyzing data rather than just drawing shapes.
Why Use It: You can write complex visualizations in very few lines of code.
Why Avoid It: No native Angular wrapper; you use it as raw JavaScript inside an Angular
ElementRef.Verdict: Use this for internal analytics tools or data-heavy reports.
Alternative: Vega-Lite. A JSON-based grammar of graphics. Highly portable, but the syntax is more verbose than Plot.
<div id="observable-plot"></div>
<script type="module">
import * as Plot from "https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@observablehq/[email protected]/+esm";
const data = [
{ horsepower: 130, weight: 3500, cylinders: 8 },
{ horsepower: 165, weight: 4300, cylinders: 8 },
{ horsepower: 90, weight: 2200, cylinders: 4 },
{ horsepower: 100, weight: 2500, cylinders: 6 },
{ horsepower: 80, weight: 2100, cylinders: 4 }
];
const chart = Plot.plot({
grid: true,
marks: [
Plot.dot(data, {x: "horsepower", y: "weight", stroke: "cylinders", fill: "cylinders"})
]
});
document.getElementById("observable-plot").append(chart);
</script>The Reliable Standards (Safe Bets)
These are battle-tested and used by thousands of companies. You won’t get fired for choosing these.
5. Apache ECharts
Best For: “I need to chart EVERYTHING.”
ECharts is the kitchen sink of visualization. It’s huge, but it’s powerful. It uses a dual rendering engine, meaning you can choose between Canvas (for performance with 100k+ points) or SVG (for crisp scaling) depending on your user’s device. It supports specialized visuals like 3D globes, heatmaps, and complex drill-downs that other libraries simply can’t handle.
Why Use It: It handles virtually any chart type you can imagine. If your product manager asks for a 3D scatter plot next month, you won’t have to switch libraries.
Why Avoid It: It is massive. If you are just building a simple admin panel with a few bar charts, including ECharts is overkill—it’s like renting a semi-truck to move a single sofa. You must use the tree-shaking syntax to keep your bundle size manageable.
Verdict: Use this if you need complex features (Heatmaps, 3D) for free.
Alternative: Highcharts. It is easier to learn and very polished, but it requires a paid license for commercial use. ECharts is free (Apache 2.0).
<div id="echarts-main" style="width: 100%; height: 400px;"></div>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected]/dist/echarts.min.js"></script>
<script>
(function() {
var chartDom = document.getElementById('echarts-main');
var myChart = echarts.init(chartDom);
var option = {
title: { text: 'ECharts Example' },
tooltip: {},
legend: { data: ['Sales'] },
xAxis: { data: ['Shirts', 'Cardigans', 'Chiffons', 'Pants', 'Heels', 'Socks'] },
yAxis: {},
series: [{
name: 'Sales',
type: 'bar',
data: [5, 20, 36, 10, 10, 20]
}]
};
myChart.setOption(option);
window.addEventListener('resize', function() {
myChart.resize();
});
})();
</script>6. Billboard.js (The Modern C3)
Best For: Developers who want D3 power without D3 difficulty.
This was a crucial finding in our research. Back in the day, C3.js was the go-to for simple D3 charts, but it stopped being maintained. Billboard.js picked up the torch. It is a modern D3 v4+ wrapper that preserves that classic, simple interface. It’s actively maintained, supports TypeScript natively, and allows you to spin up standard charts in seconds without learning D3’s complex math.
Why Use It: It bridges the gap between simplicity and power. You get the stability of D3 under the hood with an API that a junior dev can understand in 5 minutes.
Why Avoid It: It requires bundling D3.js, so it is heavier than standalone options like Chart.js.
Verdict: Use this for a simple, standard “Line/Bar/Pie” library that is easy to configure.
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://naver.github.io/billboard.js/release/latest/dist/theme/insight.min.css">
<script src="https://d3js.org/d3.v6.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://naver.github.io/billboard.js/release/latest/dist/billboard.min.js"></script>
<div id="billboard-chart"></div>
<script>
(function() {
var chart = bb.generate({
data: {
columns: [
["data1", 30, 200, 100, 400, 150, 250],
["data2", 50, 20, 10, 40, 15, 25]
],
type: "spline" // Smooth line
},
bindto: "#billboard-chart"
});
})();
</script>7. NGX-Charts
Best For: Angular Purists.
This library is unique because it doesn’t wrap an external JS library; it uses Angular itself to render SVGs. This is great for developer experience (DX) because you can style the chart using the same standard CSS files you use for the rest of your app. It feels very “native.”
Why Use It: Seamless integration with Angular templates and pipes. You can use Angular animations to transition data states.
Why Avoid It: Performance ceiling. Because it renders everything as individual SVG DOM nodes, a chart with 5,000 points creates 5,000 DOM elements. This causes “layout thrashing” and will freeze the browser.
Verdict: Use this for low-density, high-fidelity dashboards (e.g., “Monthly Revenue”) where you have < 100 data points.
React Alternative: Recharts. Similar philosophy—SVG-based and component-centric.
// app.component.ts
import { Component } from '@angular/core';
import { NgxChartsModule } from '@swimlane/ngx-charts';
@Component({
selector: 'app-root',
standalone: true,
imports: [NgxChartsModule],
template: `
<div style="height: 400px;">
<ngx-charts-bar-vertical
[view]="[700, 400]"
[scheme]="'cool'"
[results]="data"
[xAxis]="true"
[yAxis]="true"
[legend]="true"
[showXAxisLabel]="true"
[showYAxisLabel]="true"
xAxisLabel="Country"
yAxisLabel="Population"
[animations]="true">
</ngx-charts-bar-vertical>
</div>
`
})
export class AppComponent {
data = [
{ name: "Germany", value: 8940000 },
{ name: "USA", value: 5000000 },
{ name: "France", value: 7200000 }
];
}8. Chart.js
Best For: Simple, generic websites.
The “old reliable” has reinvented itself. With Version 4, Chart.js became fully tree-shakable, meaning you don’t have to ship code for charts you aren’t using. It has a massive ecosystem of plugins (like chartjs-plugin-zoom or datalabels) that extend its functionality without you writing custom code.
- Why Use It: The community is massive. Every error you face has a solution on Google. The ng2-charts wrapper is well-maintained and supports Angular Signals.
- Why Avoid It: While flexible, the configuration object can get extremely verbose for complex charts, leading to “config soup” in your components.
- Verdict: Use this for a quick prototype or basic dashboard where you need a “safe” choice.
- Alternative: ApexCharts. Often compared to Chart.js, but Apex renders via SVG (better for interactivity/tooltips) while Chart.js uses Canvas (better for rendering speed).
<div style="width: 100%; max-width: 600px; margin: auto;">
<canvas id="myChartJS"></canvas>
</div>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/chart.js"></script>
<script>
(function() {
const ctx = document.getElementById('myChartJS');
new Chart(ctx, {
type: 'bar',
data: {
labels: ['Red', 'Blue', 'Yellow', 'Green', 'Purple', 'Orange'],
datasets: [{
label: '# of Votes',
data: [12, 19, 3, 5, 2, 3],
borderWidth: 1,
backgroundColor: 'rgba(54, 162, 235, 0.5)'
}]
},
options: {
scales: { y: { beginAtZero: true } }
}
});
})();
</script>9. Cytoscape.js
Best For: Network graphs & Relationships (Nodes & Edges).
This isn’t for your standard bar or line charts; it’s a graph theory engine. If you need to visualize how users are connected in a social network, map out an IT infrastructure topology, or show supply chain logistics, this is the industry standard.
Why Use It: It comes with powerful layout algorithms (like COSE, Breadthfirst, Concentric) that automatically untangle messy data into readable structures. It also has a “headless” mode, so you can run graph analysis on a Node.js server.
Verdict: Use this ONLY for network data.
Alternative: Sigma.js. If you have massive graphs (50,000+ nodes), Sigma uses WebGL and will be faster than Cytoscape, though it has fewer automated layout options.
<div id="cy" style="width: 100%; height: 400px; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px solid #ddd;"></div>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/cytoscape/3.26.0/cytoscape.min.js"></script>
<script>
(function() {
var cy = cytoscape({
container: document.getElementById('cy'),
elements: [
{ data: { id: 'a' } },
{ data: { id: 'b' } },
{ data: { id: 'ab', source: 'a', target: 'b' } }
],
style: [
{
selector: 'node',
style: {
'background-color': '#666',
'label': 'data(id)'
}
},
{
selector: 'edge',
style: {
'width': 3,
'line-color': '#ccc',
'target-arrow-color': '#ccc',
'target-arrow-shape': 'triangle'
}
}
],
layout: { name: 'grid', rows: 1 }
});
})();
</script>The "Avoid" List (Paid or Dead)
Save yourself the technical debt. Don’t use these.
10. AnyChart / CanvasJS / Flot
AnyChart / CanvasJS: They often confuse developers because the source code is visible, but they are NOT free. They require commercial licenses. There is zero technical justification to pay for these in 2026 when libraries like Apache ECharts and Chart.js offer superior performance and features for free (Apache 2.0 / MIT licenses).
Flot: It is dead technology. It hasn’t been updated meaningfully in years and relies on jQuery, which has no place in a modern Angular 19+ application.
Recommendation: Use Apache ECharts or Billboard.js instead.
The "Hard" Mode (Last Resort)
11. D3.js
Best For: Visualizations that defy standard categories.
D3 isn’t really a chart library; it is a DOM manipulation library driven by data. It gives you infinite control—if you can draw it on a screen, D3 can build it. But you have to build everything (axes, ticks, scales, animations) from scratch.
- Why Avoid It: The “Angular Conflict.” D3 wants to control the DOM, and Angular wants to control the DOM. To make them play nice in 2026, you often have to use a “Black Box” pattern—running D3 code outside of Angular’s zone (runOutsideAngular) to prevent performance issues. It’s high effort.
- Recommendation: Avoid unless you are a data viz expert or need a completely bespoke “Hero Visualization.” Use Observable Plot or Billboard.js to get the benefits of D3 logic without the implementation pain.
Final Thoughts from Weavelinx
Choosing a library in 2026 isn’t just about looks; it’s about architecture and specific use cases.
Building a crypto or financial tool? Go Lightweight Charts.
Need a robust, maintainable SaaS dashboard? Go Unovis.
Need strict accessibility compliance? Go Carbon.
Just want a quick, standard chart? Chart.js or Billboard.js.
We hope this deep dive saves you the weeks of research we spent!
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