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Chart.ts vs TradingView Lightweight Charts
TradingView Lightweight Charts is a financial charting library focused on candlestick and time-series charts. Great for trading UIs but limited to financial chart types and Canvas rendering.
| Feature | Chart.ts | Lightweight Charts |
|---|---|---|
| Bundle size | <15kb min+gzip (entire library) | ~45kb min+gzip |
| Tree-shaking | Full (import only what you use) | Not applicable (single-purpose library) |
| TypeScript | Built-in, strict mode, full inference | Built-in types |
| SSR | Native SSR, works with any framework | Not supported (Canvas-based, needs DOM) |
| Accessibility | WCAG AA, keyboard nav, screen readers, pattern fills | None (Canvas rendering) |
| Tailwind CSS | Native className on every element, dark: variants | Not supported (Canvas rendering) |
| Chart types | 65+ built-in (52 core + 13 WebGL/3D) | ~5 (candlestick, line, area, bar, histogram) |
| Frameworks | React, Vue, Svelte, Solid, Angular, Vanilla JS | Vanilla JS (wrappers available) |
| License | MIT | Apache 2.0 |
| Rendering | Triple engine: SVG + Canvas + WebGL (auto-switching at 10k/100k points) | Canvas (HTML5) |
| Real-Time | Built-in streaming, WebSocket, SSE, HTTP polling via @chartts/websocket | Built-in streaming API |
| GPU / 3D | WebGL renderer + @chartts/gl with 13 3D chart types (Scatter3D, Surface3D, Globe3D, etc.) | No WebGL |
| Financial | @chartts/finance: SMA, EMA, RSI, MACD, Bollinger Bands, ATR, VWAP, Sharpe ratio | Full (indicators, overlays) |
| Plugins | defineChartType() with render context, hit testing, custom scales | Custom indicators |
| Interactions | Zoom, pan, brush selection, crosshair, linked charts | Zoom, pan, crosshair |
| Advanced Charts | Sankey, treemap, sunburst, chord, geo maps, network graphs, 3D globe | Financial only (4-5 types) |
| Theme Presets | 34 presets (Nord, Dracula, Catppuccin, Tokyo Night, Material, etc.) | Light/dark |
Why switch from Lightweight Charts?
Chart.ts advantages
- 65+ chart types (general-purpose + financial)
- SVG rendering with CSS/Tailwind styling
- WCAG AA accessible by default
- Full SSR support
- WebGL/3D charts (scatter, surface, globe)
Lightweight Charts limitations
- Financial charts only, no general-purpose charts
- Canvas rendering, no CSS styling
- No accessibility support
- Cannot SSR (requires DOM)
- No pie, radar, treemap, sankey, etc.
Ready to switch?
Get started with Chart.ts in 30 seconds.
$
npm install @chartts/core