Best Chart Libraries for Vue Projects in 2026
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 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 (specifically the Vue 3 Composition API ecosystem), 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.
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/vue)
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 fantastic Vue wrapper. Very clean architecture.
Verdict: Use this for a clean, professional SaaS UI.
React Alternative: Visx (by Airbnb).
Example Usage: Unovis is modular, so you import only what you need.
<script setup lang="ts">
import { VisXYContainer, VisLine, VisAxis } from '@unovis/vue';
const data = [
{ x: 0, y: 10 },
{ x: 1, y: 25 },
{ x: 2, y: 40 },
{ x: 3, y: 35 },
{ x: 4, y: 60 }
];
const x = (d: any) => d.x;
const y = (d: any) => d.y;
</script>
<template>
<div style="height: 400px; width: 100%;">
<h3>Unovis Modular Chart</h3>
<VisXYContainer :data="data" :height="400">
<VisLine :x="x" :y="y" color="#4F46E5" />
<VisAxis type="x" label="Days" />
<VisAxis type="y" label="Revenue" />
</VisXYContainer>
</div>
</template>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.
Quick Demo: Since this library interacts directly with a DOM element, we use a ref and onMounted.
<script setup>
import { onMounted, ref } from 'vue';
import { createChart } from 'lightweight-charts';
const chartContainer = ref(null);
onMounted(() => {
if (!chartContainer.value) return;
const chart = createChart(chartContainer.value, {
width: chartContainer.value.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>
<template>
<div ref="chartContainer" class="chart-box"></div>
</template>
<style scoped>
.chart-box {
position: relative;
width: 100%;
height: 400px;
}
</style>3. Carbon Charts (via @carbon/charts-vue)
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.
Example Usage:
<script setup>
import { CcbSimpleBarChart } from '@carbon/charts-vue';
import '@carbon/charts-vue/styles.css';
const data = [
{ group: 'Qty', value: 65000 },
{ group: 'More', value: 29123 },
{ group: 'Sold', value: 35213 },
{ group: 'Restocking', value: 51213 },
{ group: 'Misc', value: 16932 }
];
const options = {
title: 'Simple Bar (Discrete)',
axes: {
left: { mapsTo: 'value' },
bottom: { mapsTo: 'group', scaleType: 'labels' }
},
height: '400px'
};
</script>
<template>
<div class="chart-container">
<h3>Carbon Charts (Vue Native)</h3>
<CcbSimpleBarChart :data="data" :options="options" />
</div>
</template>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 Vue wrapper; you use it as raw JavaScript inside a Vue
ref.
<script setup>
import * as Plot from "@observablehq/plot";
import { onMounted, ref } from "vue";
const plotContainer = ref(null);
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 }
];
onMounted(() => {
const chart = Plot.plot({
grid: true,
marks: [
Plot.dot(data, { x: "horsepower", y: "weight", stroke: "cylinders", fill: "cylinders" })
]
});
if (plotContainer.value) {
plotContainer.value.append(chart);
}
});
</script>
<template>
<div ref="plotContainer"></div>
</template>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(via vue-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.
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.
Verdict: Use this if you need complex features (Heatmaps, 3D) for free.
Vue Tip: The
vue-echartscomponent is the standard wrapper here and handles the resizing listeners for you automatically.
6. Billboard.js (The Modern C3)
Best For: Developers who want D3 power without D3 difficulty.
Billboard.js picked up the torch from C3.js. It is a modern D3 wrapper that preserves that classic, simple interface. It’s actively maintained and allows you to spin up standard charts in seconds without learning D3’s complex math.
Why Use It: You get the stability of D3 under the hood with an API that a junior dev can understand in 5 minutes.
Code: Similar to the Lightweight Charts example, you initialize this inside
onMountedattached to a DOMidorref.
7. ApexCharts (The "Easy" Choice)
Best For: Developer Experience & Quick Dashboards.
Replacement for NGX-Charts.
While Angular has NGX-Charts for that component-centric feel, in the Vue ecosystem, ApexCharts reigns supreme for ease of use. It wraps standard SVG charts into a very simple Vue component syntax. It includes built-in zooming, panning, and export features without needing extra plugins.
Why Use It: It is incredibly easy to set up. The
vue3-apexchartswrapper is stable and popular.Why Avoid It: Performance can dip with very large datasets compared to Canvas-based solutions like ECharts.
Verdict: Use this for standard admin panels where you need good-looking charts fast.
<script setup>
import VueApexCharts from "vue3-apexcharts";
import { ref } from "vue";
const chartOptions = ref({
chart: { id: "vue-chart-example" },
xaxis: {
categories: [1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998]
}
});
const series = ref([{
name: "series-1",
data: [30, 40, 45, 50, 49, 60, 70, 91]
}]);
</script>
<template>
<div>
<apexchart width="500" type="bar" :options="chartOptions" :series="series"></apexchart>
</div>
</template>8. Chart.js
Best For: Simple, generic websites.
The “old reliable” has reinvented itself. With Version 4, Chart.js became fully tree-shakable. It has a massive ecosystem of plugins 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
vue-chartjswrapper is excellent and supports Vue Proxies/Reactivity out of the box.Verdict: Use this for a quick prototype or basic dashboard where you need a “safe” choice.
<script setup>
import { Bar } from 'vue-chartjs'
import { Chart as ChartJS, Title, Tooltip, Legend, BarElement, CategoryScale, LinearScale } from 'chart.js'
ChartJS.register(Title, Tooltip, Legend, BarElement, CategoryScale, LinearScale)
const chartData = {
labels: ['Red', 'Blue', 'Yellow', 'Green', 'Purple', 'Orange'],
datasets: [{
label: '# of Votes',
data: [12, 19, 3, 5, 2, 3],
backgroundColor: 'rgba(54, 162, 235, 0.5)'
}]
}
const chartOptions = { responsive: true }
</script>
<template>
<Bar :data="chartData" :options="chartOptions" />
</template>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 or map out an IT infrastructure, this is the industry standard.
Verdict: Use this ONLY for network data.
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.
Why Avoid It: The “Vue Conflict.” D3 wants to control the DOM, and Vue wants to control the DOM. To make them play nice, you often have to rely on
onMountedand ensure Vue doesn’t try to patch the D3-controlled elements. It’s high effort.Recommendation: Avoid unless you are a data viz expert. 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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