Pluto.jl vs Polynote
Pluto.jl
plutojl.orgPolynote
polynote.orgSide by side
| Figure | Pluto.jl | Polynote |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Notebook Software | 8.3 (#10) | 7.4 (#20) |
| Product | Pluto.jl is a reactive, educational notebook for the Julia programming language. | Polynote is a polyglot notebook with first-class Scala support. |
| Reproducibility | Opening a notebook on another computer causes Pluto to recreate the package environment recorded in that notebook. | Polynote encourages reproducible notebooks with an immutable data model and ordered cell semantics. |
| Security | The project repository links to a security policy; the pages reviewed do not state a security certification or compliance standard. | The installation documentation warns that Polynote allows arbitrary remote code execution and says running it on an internet-accessible computer is unsafe. |
Plans
In their own words
Pluto.jl
Pluto.jl is a free, open-source reactive notebook for the Julia programming language, developed for education. Its cells track dependencies, and changes cause affected cells to rerun. PlutoUI provides widgets such as sliders, text fields, and buttons; custom widgets can be built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Pluto analyzes package use, manages a separate package environment for each notebook, and stores environment details in the notebook file. Its documentation says there is no mutable workspace, so the visible code describes the program state. Notebooks can be exported with cell outputs as HTML or PDF. The software is available under the MIT License at free and supports real-time collaboration. To use the package, install Julia and start Pluto from Julia's terminal or REPL; the site lists Julia 1.10 through 1.12. It also links to an online editor powered by mybinder.org and featured notebooks that can run in a browser. Pluto was developed alongside MIT's Introduction to Computational Thinking course and is designed for students and teachers.
Polynote
Polynote is free, open-source notebook software with first-class Scala support. One notebook can mix Scala, Python, SQL, and Vega while sharing data between languages. Its immutable data model and ordered cell semantics support reproducible work. Editing includes autocomplete, error highlighting, rich text, and LaTeX equations. The interface tracks kernel tasks and highlights the statement currently running. A plot editor and Vega support handle visualization. Polynote integrates with Apache Spark for Scala and Python; Python runs through Jep in the JVM and can share data with Scala. The software is a JVM-based server that serves a web client and is distributed for self-hosting on Linux, macOS, and other listed environments. It supports Jupyter .ipynb and Zeppelin .json formats. Runtime documentation reports successful testing with Java 8 and Java 11 and requires Python 3 with pip. Installation warns that arbitrary remote code execution makes internet-accessible deployment unsafe.