I build dashboards for a living. Sales, ops, app health—the whole mix. I’ve used a bunch of chart tools in JavaScript. Some made my day. Some made me cry in stand-up. You know what? The right pick depends on your data, your team, and your deadline. I even wrote a separate deep dive, I tried the big JavaScript chart tools—here’s what actually worked, if you want the blow-by-blow.
Here’s my honest take, with real bits from my code and my mess.
My Setup (so you know where I’m coming from)
- Stack: React + Vite at work. Vanilla JS for small embeds.
- Data: 5k to 120k points. Time series, bars, scatter, a few maps.
- Must-haves: dark mode, tooltips, export, screen reader support.
- Nice-to-haves: zoom, annotations, small bundle, smooth on mobile.
I’ll keep it simple and real. For a broader look at this same setup across a dozen contenders, see I tried a bunch of JavaScript chart libraries—here’s what actually worked for me.
Chart.js — The “I need something working by lunch” pick
I used Chart.js for a sales dashboard that had 8 charts. I was up and running in an hour. The defaults look clean. The docs are plain. It felt calm. It also features in my roundup I tried free JavaScript charts so you don’t have to where it came out near the top.
<canvas id="revenue"></canvas>
<script type="module">
import { Chart } from 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/chart.js';
const ctx = document.getElementById('revenue');
new Chart(ctx, {
type: 'line',
data: {
labels: ['Mon','Tue','Wed','Thu','Fri'],
datasets: [{
label: 'Revenue',
data: [120, 150, 90, 180, 210],
borderColor: '#4f46e5',
backgroundColor: 'rgba(79,70,229,0.15)',
tension: 0.3,
pointRadius: 0
}]
},
options: {
responsive: true,
scales: {
y: { beginAtZero: true }
}
}
});
</script>
What I liked:
- Good defaults. Labels don’t look wonky.
- Time scales are easy. Tooltips are readable.
- Plugins work fine (I use the datalabels one).
What bugged me:
- Over 20k points, it stutters. Canvas gets hot.
- Custom legends took a bit of glue code.
- Mobile pinch zoom needs an add-on.
When I need fast and safe, I grab this.
Recharts — When I’m deep in React
I used Recharts for a fintech app with live data. The API feels like LEGO. I can compose parts. It makes sense with JSX. If you’re hunting open-source React options, I covered more in I tried a bunch of open-source JavaScript chart tools—here’s what actually worked.
import { LineChart, Line, XAxis, YAxis, Tooltip, ResponsiveContainer } from 'recharts';
const data = [
{ t: '09:00', v: 12 },
{ t: '10:00', v: 18 },
{ t: '11:00', v: 15 },
{ t: '12:00', v: 22 }
];
export default function Sparkline() {
return (
<ResponsiveContainer width="100%" height={140}>
<LineChart data={data} margin={{ top: 8, right: 8, left: 8, bottom: 8 }}>
<XAxis dataKey="t" hide />
<YAxis hide domain={['dataMin', 'dataMax']} />
<Tooltip />
<Line type="monotone" dataKey="v" stroke="#10b981" strokeWidth={2} dot={false} />
</LineChart>
</ResponsiveContainer>
);
}
Good stuff:
- Very “React-y.” Composable. Easy to test.
- Nice for dashboards with cards and grids.
- Tooltips and responsive are simple.
Not so great:
- Big datasets slow down. Virtualization helps, but still.
- Axis control is okay, but not tiny-tiny precise.
- SVG can choke on lots of points.
If you live in React, it’s friendly.
Apache ECharts — The power tool with a lot in the box
I moved a heavy time series (60k points) to ECharts. It stayed smooth. Zoom felt crisp. The built-in themes made dark mode look pro. ECharts also featured prominently in I tried a bunch of high-performance JavaScript charts—here’s what actually felt fast.
<div id="cpu" style="height:300px"></div>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/echarts/dist/echarts.min.js"></script>
<script>
const chart = echarts.init(document.getElementById('cpu'));
chart.setOption({
tooltip: { trigger: 'axis' },
xAxis: { type: 'category', data: ['09:00','10:00','11:00','12:00'] },
yAxis: { type: 'value' },
dataZoom: [{ type: 'inside' }, { type: 'slider' }],
series: [{
type: 'line',
data: [32, 45, 38, 50],
smooth: true,
areaStyle: {}
}]
});
</script>
Why I keep it around:
- Tons of chart types. Heatmaps, candlesticks, maps.
- Data zoom, brush, and tooltips feel slick.
- Good on large data with canvas.
Trade-offs:
- Bundle is chunky if you’re strict on size.
- The API is deep. New folks can get lost.
- TypeScript types are… a lot.
When data is big or you need fancy, this is it.
Highcharts — Polished, rich, and… check your license
I used Highcharts for a healthcare client that needed exports, a11y, and clean PDFs. It looked like a report from day one. It saved time. I later leaned on the same export features for a side project—I built a tiny trading dashboard, here’s what I learned about financial charts in JavaScript.
<div id="container"></div>
<script src="https://code.highcharts.com/highcharts.js"></script>
<script>
Highcharts.chart('container', {
title: { text: 'Appointments per Day' },
xAxis: { categories: ['Mon','Tue','Wed','Thu','Fri'] },
series: [{ name: 'Visits', data: [14, 18, 11, 20, 25], color: '#0ea5e9' }],
accessibility: { enabled: true },
exporting: { enabled: true }
});
</script>
Why it shines:
- Exports are easy. PNG, PDF, SVG—done.
- Strong accessibility tools.
- Solid docs and examples.
Heads-up:
- Free for personal use, but business licenses cost.
- The default look is “report-ish.” Good or bad, your call.
- Custom themes take a minute.
If you have budget and need polish, it’s great.
ApexCharts — Quick wins for dashboards
I used ApexCharts for a marketing scorecard. Area charts with nice fades. Annotations were simple. Stakeholders smiled. The quick-win vibe is why it popped up in Easy JavaScript charts—what actually worked for me.
“`html
const options = {
series: [{ name: ‘Signups’, data: [30, 42, 28, 55, 61] }],
chart: { type: ‘area’, height: 280, toolbar: { show: false } },
dataLabels: { enabled: false },
stroke: { curve: ‘smooth’ },
colors: [‘#f59e0b’],
xaxis: { categories: [‘Mon’,’Tue’,’Wed’,’Thu’,’Fri’] },
fill: { type: ‘gradient’, gradient: { shadeIntensity: 0.3, opacityFrom: 0.5, opacityTo: 0.1 } }
};
new Apex