The Force Atlas layout algorithm is a spatial layout algorithm for real-world networks, such as web networks. Web networks belong to a special class of networks that are known as small-world networks, otherwise known as scale-free networks. The Force Atlas layout algorithm comes under a category of algorithms called force-directed algorithms.

There's usually a trade-off between quality and speed when it comes to graph layout algorithms. Force Atlas emphasizes the former over the latter; that is, the Force Atlas layout algorithm gives more weight to the quality of the layout than the speed with which it has been computed. This is especially true in the case of large networks. In the case of small networks, Force Atlas works just fine.