# Which is better Makie or Graphs?

**URL:** <https://discourse.julialang.org/t/which-is-better-makie-or-graphs/76508>\
**Category:** Visualization\
**Created:** [February 15, 2022, 7:54pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/which-is-better-makie-or-graphs/76508 "2022-02-15T19:54:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![matic\_lauko](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/matic_lauko/32/27770_2.png) [@matic\_lauko](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/matic_lauko)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 7:54pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/which-is-better-makie-or-graphs/76508/1 "2022-02-15T19:54:11Z")

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I’m trying to visually see how some functions converge and use it for some other visualizations of functions or 3d simulations and I’m wondering which one is better, or should I learn both? Initially I choose Makie, but don’t have a graphics card. Is it worth using WGLMakie or should I use Graphs, what is your recommendation?  
Thanks in advance.

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**Author:** ![lazarusA](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/lazarusa/32/6571_2.png) [@lazarusA](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/lazarusA)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/which-is-better-makie-or-graphs/76508/2 "2022-02-15T20:09:23Z")

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With Graphs.jl and GraphMakie.jl you could do some plots…

[https://juliagraphs.org/Graphs.jl/dev/plotting/](https://juliagraphs.org/Graphs.jl/dev/plotting/)

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**Author:** ![sdanisch](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/sdanisch/32/1406_2.png) [@sdanisch](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/sdanisch)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 8:49pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/which-is-better-makie-or-graphs/76508/3 "2022-02-15T20:49:13Z")

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By now, GLMakie should also work on most platforms without GPU, so it should be possible to still set it up…  
And if not, CairoMakie & WGLMakie should work pretty well 😉

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**Author:** ![ParadaCarleton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/paradacarleton/32/20005_2.png) [@ParadaCarleton](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/ParadaCarleton)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/which-is-better-makie-or-graphs/76508/4 "2022-02-15T20:51:32Z")

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I think you’re misunderstanding what Graphs.jl is – The name “Graph” is referring to a [mathematical graph](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graph_(discrete_mathematics)), which is a set of points connected by edges. This is not the same as a plot; the packages aren’t interchangeable.

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**Author:** ![ParadaCarleton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/paradacarleton/32/20005_2.png) [@ParadaCarleton](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/ParadaCarleton)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 8:56pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/which-is-better-makie-or-graphs/76508/5 "2022-02-15T20:56:27Z")

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If you’d like an alternative to Makie, Plots.jl and Gadfly.jl are both pretty good. The main differences between these three will be:

1. Plots.jl is the most mature, and is also versatile (as it can use many different backends).
2. Gadfly.jl uses ggplot-style syntax, where you create graphs by composing different parts. This is very flexible. That being said, Gadfly is being updated a lot less than the other two packages these days.
3. Makie.jl has the most bells and whistles (and IMO the best-looking graphs, but obviously that’s subjective). It also has the AlgebraOfGraphics expansion, which lets you extend Makie with ggplot-style syntax – of these, AoG hews closest to what ggplot looks like.

I personally would suggest Makie.jl, as it’s the one improving the fastest these days, but they’re all good.

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**Author:** ![matic\_lauko](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/matic_lauko/32/27770_2.png) [@matic\_lauko](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/matic_lauko)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 2:39pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/which-is-better-makie-or-graphs/76508/6 "2022-02-16T14:39:51Z")

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Sorry, you are right. I forgot to mention Plots.jl. I wanted to ask if it is better to learn those two or Makie as Makie can do both things, with a bit of help from GraphsMakie. Also, my general usage for the project now is mostly around mathematical graphs.  
Thank you for pointing that out.

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**Author:** ![ParadaCarleton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/paradacarleton/32/20005_2.png) [@ParadaCarleton](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/ParadaCarleton)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 10:14pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/which-is-better-makie-or-graphs/76508/7 "2022-02-16T22:14:25Z")

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Ahh, makes sense – I had no idea Makie could do graphs.

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**Author:** ![matic\_lauko](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/matic_lauko/32/27770_2.png) [@matic\_lauko](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/matic_lauko)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 4:24am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/which-is-better-makie-or-graphs/76508/8 "2022-02-17T04:24:41Z")

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I think it uses, Graphs to do graphs. so it just adds some functionality.  
How long do you think does it take to learn Graphs.jl, Makie.jl and Plots.jl?