Highcharts
What it is: Commercial JavaScript charting library. Reliable, professional, excellent documentation.
What It Does Best
Enterprise reliability. Battle-tested in thousands of production apps. Backwards compatible, stable APIs.
Old browser support. Works back to IE 6. Critical for enterprise environments with legacy systems.
Exceptional documentation. Every option documented with live examples. Top-tier support available.
Key Features
20+ chart types: Line, bar, pie, stock charts, maps, heatmaps, more
Stock charts: Specialized financial charts with navigator and range selector
Maps: Geographic visualizations with drill-down capabilities
Accessibility: WCAG compliant, screen reader support built-in
Export module: Client-side PDF, PNG, SVG export
Pricing
Free: Personal/non-profit use
Single developer: $590/year
Team (5 devs): $1,290/year
Enterprise: Custom pricing
When to Use It
✅ Enterprise web applications
✅ Need commercial support
✅ Old browser compatibility required
✅ Budget for commercial software
✅ Accessibility requirements critical
When NOT to Use It
❌ Open source project (license issue)
❌ Budget constrained (Chart.js free)
❌ Modern browsers only (free alternatives work)
❌ Simple charts only (overkill)
❌ Can't justify annual license cost
Common Use Cases
Financial dashboards: Stock charts, portfolio tracking, market data
Enterprise reporting: Sales reports, KPI dashboards for large organizations
Data journalism: Interactive charts for news organizations
SaaS products: Analytics and reporting features for B2B software
Government/healthcare: Compliance-heavy environments needing support
Highcharts vs Alternatives
vs Chart.js: Highcharts more features, support; Chart.js free, lighter
vs ECharts: Highcharts better docs, support; ECharts free, comparable features
vs D3.js: Highcharts easier, faster; D3.js unlimited customization
Unique Strengths
Commercial support: SLA-backed help when you need it
Browser compatibility: Works on ancient browsers others don't support
Stock charts: Best financial charting library for web
Battle-tested: Proven in Fortune 500 production environments
Bottom line: You're paying for reliability and support. Worth it for enterprise apps where downtime costs money. Free alternatives exist but Highcharts just works.