Open-Source Angular Chart Libraries for Angular Developers

Data analysis is a crucial part of any business application that will help you to make important decisions. It is important to represent a large amount of data in easy to understand and interactive way. To visualize complex data on your web app, you need powerful angular chart libraries.

Charts are very useful for creating easy-to-understand and represent data interactive way.

Today charts are built using SVG scalable vector graphics and JavaScript. Charts are available which support all the browsers, support interactivity and animations, and come without special plugins. These charts look well across high-resolution devices. This has been made possible with JavaScript Development using several JavaScript chart libraries.

In Angular, there are many free and premium chart libraries available for representing data visually. In this article, I will be sharing my experience working with open-source Angular chart libraries to build interactive and effective data visualizations.

8 Things to consider before choosing Angular chart libraries:

If you search on the internet, there are many different Angular chart libraries available. So, how can you choose one it’s difficult. Based on my experience, here are some important factors you should consider before choosing a library.

1. SVG or Canvas

First, decide which type of chart you want to use SVG or Canvas?  Each has its own pros and cons.

SVG specification defines the features and syntax for a modularized language for describing two-dimensional vector graphics using XML.

The Canvas specification defines objects, methods, and properties to draw and manipulate graphics using a <canvas/> HTML element.

2. Angular friendly

You should search for up-to-date libraries that work seamlessly with Angular versions.

3. License and policy

Most of the chart libraries are open source and free to use. If you want to buy premium chart libraries such as Highcharts and Zingchart, you have to buy a license.

4. Up to date

Don’t forget to look at the library’s GitHub activity (number of stars, date of the last commit, future plans, etc).

5. Know the limitation

Not all chart Libraries provide a full set of visualization such as 2D, 3D, map, scientific, financial, and statistical charting. Also, some provide great customization, others don’t.

Depending on your project requirements choose the library.

6. Customization

Depending on the complexity of your chart design, and the library you choose whether you will be able to implement your visualization easily or going to spend quite some hours figuring out the nasty little quirks.

Do you have in mind any custom interaction? Hovers, clicks, loaders, or maybe merge the chart with some HTML to enhance the overall visualization.

7. Data integration

You need to take care of data source, fetching technique, and integration with your Angular services.

8. Clean code

Every developer prefers to work with understandable, extendable, clean, and tidy source code. You should spend some time ensuring future collaborators can extend your work seamlessly.

Here are the top 5 open-source Angular chart libraries:

1. ngx-echarts
2. ng2-charts
3. PrimeNG Charts
4. ApexCharts
5. Chart.js

1) ngx-echarts

ngx-echarts is an Angular (ver >= 2.x) directive for ECharts (ver >= 3.x)

ECharts is an open-sourced, web-based, cross-platform framework that supports the rapid construction of interactive visualization.

EChart runs fluently on PC and mobile devices. It is compatible with the most modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox, Mozilla, etc. ECharts depends on ZRender, a graphic rendering engine, to create intuitive, interactive, and highly-customizable charts.

EChart has 39.6k+ stars and 13.2k+ forks on GitHub., ECharts is regarded as a leading visualization development tool in the world and ranks third in the GitHub visualization tab.

Features

1. Chart types

Line series, bar series, scatter series, pie charts, candle-stick series, boxplot series for statistics, map series, heatmap series, line series for directional information, graph series for relationships, treemap series, sunburst series, parallel series for multi-dimensional data, funnel series, gauge series

Besides the built-in chart types, ECharts also provide a custom series for users to create a specific chart type.

2. Customization Option

• Loading Handling
• Event Handling
• Real-time data update
• Initial Options
• Auto Resize
• Theming
• Connect Charts
• Draggable Charts
• 3D Charts

Check – Documentation & Github Repo

2) ng2-charts

ng2-charts is an Angular charting library based on chart.js to create beautiful charts.Chart.js is a popular open-source JavaScript charting library

Chart.js uses HTML5 canvas which provides great rendering performance across all modern browsers (IE11+).

It provides schematics for easy integration in angular applications.

Features

1. Chart types

ng2-charts supports 8 chart types: line chart, bar chart, radar chart, pie chart, polar-area chart, doughnut chart, bubble chart, and scatter chart.

2. Customization Option

• Legends
• Labels
• Colors
• Tooltip
• Theming
• Combine Charts

Check – Documentation & Github Repo

3) PrimeNG Charts

PrimeNG supports Chart components based on Charts.js 2.7.x, an open-source HTML5 based charting library.

PrimeNG is a collection of rich UI components for Angular. All widgets are open source and free to use under MIT License.

The chart component provides a visual representation of data using charts on a web page. The chart model is based on the UIChart class name, and it can be represented with the element name as p-chart.

Features

1. Chart Types

Pie chart, doughnut chart, line (line or horizontal bar) chart, bar chart, radar chart, and polar area chart.

2.Customization Option

• Responsive
• Event Handling
• Labels
• Legends
• Tooltip
• Width and Height

Check – Documentation & Github Repo

4) ApexCharts

ApexCharts is a modern open-source charting library that seamlessly integrates with Angular via the ng-apexcharts wrapper, making it ideal for dynamic data visualization in Angular templates. Known for its stunning, interactive charts, ApexCharts supports a variety of chart types and offers extensive customization to match Angular themes, perfect for dashboards and analytics tools. Its lightweight, SVG-based rendering ensures high performance across devices.

ApexCharts has 13.8k+ stars and 1.2k+ forks on GitHub.

Features

1. Chart Types

Basic Charts: Line, Bar, Pie, Area, Candlestick, Heatmap, Radial Bar, Funnel Charts, and Range Bar Charts.

Interactive Charts: Zoomable Timeseries, Sync Charts, Brush Charts, and Treemap.

2. Customization option

• Data export as SVG/PNG
• Zoom and Pan
• Real-time updates
• Custom themes and colors
• Responsive layouts

Check – Documentation & GitHub Repo

5) Chart.js

Chart.js is a popular open-source charting library that integrates effortlessly with Angular through the angular-chart.js wrapper, enabling responsive visualizations in Angular templates. Renowned for its simplicity and performance, Chart.js uses HTML5 canvas to render charts, supporting various types and offering customization to align with Angular themes. It’s a go-to choice for developers needing straightforward, high-quality charts.

Chart.js has 64.3k+ stars and 11.8k+ forks on GitHub.

Features

1. Chart types

Basic Charts: Line, Bar, Pie, Doughnut, Radar, Polar Area, Bubble, and Scatter Charts.
Mixed Charts: Combine multiple chart types like Bar-Line or Doughnut-Bar.

2. Customization option

• Data export as PNG
• Animation support
• Custom colors and fonts
• Responsive design
• Tooltips and legends

Check – Documentation & GitHub Repo

Conclusion

There are many chart libraries out there and the libraries listed here are just a few of those popular chart libraries.

Check More Articles –

• Most use-full Material-UI components for Angular
• Evolution of Angular framework
• Best Angular Dashboard Templates