ApexCharts vs Highcharts: What are the differences?

Introduction

ApexCharts and Highcharts are both powerful charting libraries used to visualize data on websites. They offer various features and capabilities to create interactive and visually appealing charts. However, there are some key differences between these two libraries that distinguish them from each other. In this article, we will explore these differences in detail.

1. Chart Types: ApexCharts provides a wide range of chart types including line charts, area charts, bar charts, column charts, pie charts, and scatter charts. On the other hand, Highcharts offers an extensive collection of chart types including all the ones provided by ApexCharts, plus additional types like bubble charts, heatmaps, polar charts, and 3D charts. This gives Highcharts an edge over ApexCharts in terms of chart variety.

2. Customization Options: ApexCharts allows extensive customization of charts by providing an easy-to-use API for modifying elements such as colors, fonts, labels, tooltips, legends, and animations. Highcharts, on the other hand, offers a more comprehensive set of customization options, allowing developers to fine-tune every aspect of the chart's appearance and behavior. With Highcharts, developers have more control over styling and can create highly customized charts for their specific needs.

3. Cross-Browser Compatibility: Both ApexCharts and Highcharts are compatible with all major web browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. However, Highcharts has a longer history and a larger user base, which means it has been tested more extensively across different browser versions and platforms. This gives Highcharts a slight advantage in terms of cross-browser compatibility and ensures a more consistent charting experience across various environments.

4. Documentation and Community Support: Highcharts has been around for a longer time and has a vast and well-established user community. As a result, it has extensive documentation, tutorials, and a vibrant support community. ApexCharts, although relatively new compared to Highcharts, also has good documentation and support available. However, the community support for ApexCharts might not be as extensive as that of Highcharts due to its relatively smaller user base.

5. License and Pricing: ApexCharts is an open-source library that is available for free under the MIT license. It can be used in both personal and commercial projects without any cost. Highcharts, on the other hand, offers a dual-licensing model. It provides a free version for non-commercial use under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License, but for commercial use, a license needs to be purchased. This difference in licensing models might be a consideration for developers depending on their project requirements and budget.

6. Performance and Rendering: Both ApexCharts and Highcharts are well-optimized for performance and can handle large datasets without any significant performance issues. However, Highcharts has been around for longer and has a more mature codebase, which might result in slightly better performance in some cases. For extremely large datasets or complex charts, Highcharts might have a slight edge in terms of rendering speed and responsiveness.

In summary, ApexCharts and Highcharts are both powerful charting libraries with their own strengths and capabilities. The choice between the two depends on factors such as the desired chart types, customization requirements, cross-browser compatibility needs, documentation and support preferences, licensing considerations, and performance requirements.