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D3 vs Plotly

Based on 12 and 2 real audits

View D3 details | View Plotly details
MetricD3PlotlyWinner
Performance4753Plotly
Accessibility8289Plotly
Best Practices8784D3
SEO9096Plotly
Security6878Plotly
TTFB333ms274msPlotly
Composite7379Plotly
Performance
D3
47
Plotly
53
Accessibility
D3
82
Plotly
89
Security
D3
68
Plotly
78
SEO
D3
90
Plotly
96
Composite
D3
73
Plotly
79

Plotly outperforms D3 in 6 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (79 vs 73). D3 leads in best practices.

When to choose D3

Choose D3 when your primary concern is best practices. Its audit data shows consistent strength in these areas across the sampled sites.

When to choose Plotly

Choose Plotly when your primary concern is server response time and security. Its audit data shows consistent strength in these areas across the sampled sites.

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 12 audited D3 sites and 2 audited Plotly sites in the BeaverCheck database. Every audit runs the same 100+ checks — Lighthouse performance, security headers, accessibility, SEO, server response time — against a real URL. No vendor input, no sponsorship, no affiliate links. Read the full methodology →

Small sample: one or both technologies have fewer than 10 audited sites. Treat these numbers as directional — medians stabilize around 20–30 audits per side.

FAQ

Which is faster, D3 or Plotly?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, Plotly sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (53 vs 47 on average).
Which has better security, D3 or Plotly?
Plotly sites score higher on security analysis (78 vs 68 on average).
Which has better accessibility, D3 or Plotly?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor Plotly (89 vs 82). Both technologies can be made fully accessible with care — the difference reflects common patterns in the sampled sites, not inherent platform limits.
Which is better for SEO, D3 or Plotly?
Plotly sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (96 vs 90 on average), which cover meta tags, crawlability, mobile friendliness, and structured data. Content strategy and backlinks still matter more than platform choice for ranking.
Which has faster server response (TTFB), D3 or Plotly?
Plotly sites show lower Time to First Byte (274 ms vs 333 ms on average). TTFB depends heavily on hosting and CDN setup rather than the technology itself, but the sampled sites suggest a meaningful difference in common deployment patterns.
Should I choose D3 or Plotly for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. Plotly scores higher on overall composite score while D3 may excel in metrics you care about most. Run a free BeaverCheck audit on a real site using each to compare the metrics relevant to your use case.
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