Pele Mermaid diagram renderer
Shares rank 7 of 11 diagram tools by recommenders
A free Mermaid-syntax renderer that outputs themeable SVG diagrams with a nicer layout and easier embedding on other sites. Critics report that its layout gains are small and that the playground preview and dark-mode examples have problems.
A free Mermaid-syntax renderer that outputs themeable SVG diagrams with a nicer layout and easier embedding on other sites. Critics report that its layout gains are small and that the playground preview and dark-mode examples have problems.
16 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 12
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 12 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Clean, readable diagram output
“I always find Mermaid hard to read but Pele is a delight.”
Comment from 18 Oct 2026 in “Pele – Mermaid diagrams as themeable SVG” “The layout quality is very impressive!”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “Pele – Mermaid diagrams as themeable SVG” Renders directly to SVG
“I like the approach of rendering directly to SVG”
Comment from 18 Oct 2026 in “Pele – Mermaid diagrams as themeable SVG” “Pele is great news for embedding Mermaid rendering in other places”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “Pele – Mermaid diagrams as themeable SVG” Theming and dark mode
“I like theming and controls you added to make it feel native to your site.”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “Pele – Mermaid diagrams as themeable SVG” “Dark mode support is a good highlight.”
Comment from 18 Oct 2026 in “Pele – Mermaid diagrams as themeable SVG” Good layout and subgraph handling
“A flowchart subgraph keeps its own direction even when it links to nodes outside the subgraph.”
Comment from 18 Oct 2026 in “Pele – Mermaid diagrams as themeable SVG” “Pele not only takes care of all of that, but also manages a nicer layout!”
Comment from 18 Oct 2026 in “Pele – Mermaid diagrams as themeable SVG”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Layout gains look small
“I couldn't see any major differences in the layout.”
Comment from 18 Oct 2026 in “Pele – Mermaid diagrams as themeable SVG” “first two examples are identical here”
Comment from 18 Oct 2026 in “Pele – Mermaid diagrams as themeable SVG” Dark-mode examples poorly styled
“The examples are not very dark-mode friendly”
Comment from 18 Oct 2026 in “Pele – Mermaid diagrams as themeable SVG” Playground preview broken
“the mermaid preview in the playground is broken”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “Pele – Mermaid diagrams as themeable SVG”
Other diagram tools people recommend
The four most recommended other diagram tools, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mermaid | 93 | 46 | 67% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Reladraw | 28 | 7 | 80% | 1 | — | — |
| SQL to ER diagram tool | 27 | 1 | 96% | 2 | — | — |
| D2 diagram language | 21 | 6 | 78% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Pele Mermaid diagram rendererThis page | 12 | 4 | 75% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
16 of the 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I like theming and controls you added to make it feel native to your site.”
“I always find Mermaid hard to read but Pele is a delight.”
“I like the approach of rendering directly to SVG”
“first two examples are identical here”
“This seemed like a perfect fit for my use case and I already swapped it in.”
“Dark mode support is a good highlight.”
“This was pretty inspiring”
“I couldn't see any major differences in the layout.”
“Pele not only takes care of all of that, but also manages a nicer layout!”
“A flowchart subgraph keeps its own direction even when it links to nodes outside the subgraph.”
“The examples are not very dark-mode friendly”
“The layout quality is very impressive!”
“the mermaid preview in the playground is broken”
“Version control friendly.”
“that's why I designed Pele to only follow its syntax not its layout”
“Pele is great news for embedding Mermaid rendering in other places”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.