Hi, I’m Kayla. I build small dashboards for real people—teachers, shop owners, and my own messy side projects. I’ve tried a bunch of chart tools in JavaScript. Some felt smooth. Some made me sigh. Here’s what I used, what I liked, and where I got stuck.
For the fuller origin story—including the weekend I almost gave up—read my recap, Easy JavaScript Charts: What Actually Worked For Me.
What I needed (and why it mattered)
- Fast start, like “10 minutes before a meeting” fast
- Pretty defaults that don’t need a design degree
- Tooltips, legends, and responsive charts on phones
- Can handle live data without choking
- Clear docs when I’m tired and on coffee number two
Seems simple, right? It wasn’t always.
Chart.js: My friendly starter
Chart.js was the first one that clicked for me. It gave me clean charts with little setup. The defaults look nice. And it works on phones without me fighting CSS.
Pro tip: the full API reference lives in the official documentation—Chart.js Docs—and it’s worth scanning when you need custom ticks.
Here’s a real bar chart I used for a local bake sale report:
<canvas id="sales"></canvas>
<script>
// assume Chart.js is loaded
const ctx = document.getElementById('sales').getContext('2d');
const chart = new Chart(ctx, {
type: 'bar',
data: {
labels: ['Mon', 'Tue', 'Wed', 'Thu', 'Fri', 'Sat', 'Sun'],
datasets: [{
label: 'Cupcakes Sold',
data: [12, 19, 8, 14, 22, 28, 17],
backgroundColor: '#6C9EEB'
}]
},
options: {
responsive: true,
plugins: {
legend: { position: 'bottom' },
tooltip: { enabled: true }
},
scales: {
y: { beginAtZero: true }
}
}
});
</script>
What I loved:
- It looked good right away.
- The legend and tooltip worked without fuss.
- The docs were clear enough for a tired brain.
What bugged me:
- Big data made it slow for me (10k points felt sticky).
- Some plugin stuff got fiddly.
- Custom ticks took a few tries to get right.
Would I use it again? For small to mid charts, yes. It’s my “safe choice.”
I wrote an even deeper Chart.js breakdown in I Make Charts With JavaScript—Here’s What Actually Worked For Me.
ApexCharts: The slick one with nice extras
ApexCharts felt fancy and smooth. A lot of the polish comes from the built-in goodies tucked under the aptly named features page, so I didn’t have to reinvent hover states or animations. I used it for a real-time line chart at a school science night. Kids watched air sensor data move on screen. It won them over. It won me over too.
Here’s a simple area chart I used in a site traffic panel:
<div id="area"></div>
<script>
// assume ApexCharts is loaded
const options = {
chart: { type: 'area', height: 280, animations: { enabled: true } },
series: [
{ name: 'Visits', data: [31, 40, 28, 51, 42, 109, 100] }
],
xaxis: { categories: ['Mon','Tue','Wed','Thu','Fri','Sat','Sun'] },
fill: {
type: 'gradient',
gradient: { shadeIntensity: 0.4, opacityFrom: 0.7, opacityTo: 0.2 }
},
dataLabels: { enabled: false },
stroke: { curve: 'smooth' }
};
const chart = new ApexCharts(document.querySelector('#area'), options);
chart.render();
</script>
What felt great:
- Tooltips and legends looked polished.
- Animations were smooth without me tuning a ton.
- Real-time updates were easy. I just pushed points.
What I didn’t love:
- Bundle felt heavier than I wanted for small pages.
- Matching my exact brand styles took time.
- A few color themes leaned a bit “flashy” for serious reports.
My take: when I want pretty and lively with less fuss, this works.
If you’re comparing the free chart contenders side-by-side, my field notes in I Tried Free JavaScript Charts So You Don’t Have To might help.
ECharts: The powerhouse for big data
When I had a giant set (city bus GPS points—don’t ask), Chart.js tapped out. ECharts handled it. The charts felt fast even with many points. The config is large, but it’s worth it for heavy loads.
This is an actual line chart I used for 25k points (downsampled in code, still hefty):
<div id="bigLine" style="height:320px;"></div>
<script>
// assume ECharts is loaded
const chart = echarts.init(document.getElementById('bigLine'));
const data = new Array(25000).fill(0).map((_, i) => [i, Math.sin(i/200) + (Math.random()*0.2)]);
const option = {
tooltip: { trigger: 'axis' },
xAxis: { type: 'value' },
yAxis: { type: 'value' },
series: [{
type: 'line',
data,
showSymbol: false,
lineStyle: { width: 1 }
}]
};
chart.setOption(option);
</script>
What I liked:
- It handled large data without choking.
- So many chart types: maps, heatmaps, candlesticks.
- Zoom and pan felt smooth.
What wore me out:
- The config object was long. Lots of properties.
- Some doc parts felt a bit stiff or mixed in tone.
- Styling took me a few passes to nail.
Use it when you have “wow, that’s a lot of data.”
I rounded up every library I could cram into a weekend in I Tried a Bunch of JavaScript Chart Libraries—Here’s What Actually Worked for Me. Spoiler: open-source tools came out ahead in I Tried a Bunch of Open-Source JavaScript Chart Tools—Here’s What Actually Worked.
A plain JS quickie: a tiny bar chart I use in emails
Sometimes I don’t need a full library. For a simple report email or a tight modal, I use a tiny DOM bar chart. It’s not perfect, but it’s fast and cute.
<div id="mini"></div>
<style>
.bar { display:inline-block; width:20px; margin-right:6px; background:#8FD694; vertical-align:bottom; }
.wrap { height:120px; border-left:1px solid #ccc; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:6px; }
</style>
<script>
const data = [5, 12, 7, 9, 3, 15, 10];
const max = Math.max(...data);
const wrap = document.createElement('div');
wrap.className = 'wrap';
data.forEach(v => {
const b = document.createElement('div');
b.className = 'bar';
b.style.height = (v / max * 100) + '%';
wrap.appendChild(b);
});
document.getElementById('mini').appendChild(wrap);
</script>
Pros:
- No big files. No fuss.
- Works in a pinch.
Cons:
- No tooltips. No legend. No axes labels unless I add them.
- Not great for screen readers without extra work.
When I need more control than a DOM hack but lighter than a full framework, I still reach for D3; I shared that experience in I Made Real Charts With D3.js—Here’s How It Felt.
Real builds I shipped (quick stories)
-
My Etsy-ish sales board: I used Chart.js for daily sales and returns. It loaded fast on my phone. The stacked bars were clear for my boss. We spotted a Friday spike and ran a small promo on Saturdays. That actually helped.
-
School air demo: ApexCharts made a smooth live line. A kid waved a CO2 sensor by a plant. The line went up then down. The class clapped. I smiled.
-
City map test: ECharts handled a huge set of bus stop pings. I used a heatmap layer. It stayed snappy. My laptop fan still spun up, but the chart