Comparing
The most powerful data visualization library for the web — bind data to SVG/Canvas elements and transform them with scales, axes, and layouts.
3D graphics in the browser — WebGL-powered scenes, lights, cameras, and geometries with a beginner-friendly JavaScript API.
| Metric | d3 | three |
|---|---|---|
| Ecosystem | npm | npm |
| Difficulty | Advanced | Advanced |
| Weekly downloads | 5.0M↑ | 3.0M |
| Latest version | v7.9.0 | v0.170.0 |
| Recipes | 1 | 2↑ |
d3 only
Shared
three only
Custom visualizations that no library supports, journalism/scrollytelling data stories, network graphs, geo maps, animated transitions between data states, or when you need to own every detail.
3D product viewers, data visualizations in 3D, games, interactive art, generative design, architecture visualization, any WebGL experience.
Standard bar/line/pie charts in a product (use Recharts or Chart.js — they're 10x faster to implement). d3's learning curve is steep.
2D graphics (use canvas API or SVG), simple CSS animations, when you need a full game engine (use Babylon.js or Unity WebGL).
d3
three