ANALYTICS
A GPU-accelerated Bayesian GLM package buys its way into the standard R Bayesian toolchain
Alternatives · analytics tools
rATTAINS alternatives
The best rATTAINS alternatives in analytics tools, ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score.
Updated Aug 17, 2026
Looking for the best alternatives to rATTAINS? Sparkpulse tracks and ranks 12 alternatives in analytics tools by shipping velocity — how frequently each ships meaningful updates, verified from official changelogs. For reference, rATTAINS shipped 0 meaningful updates in the last 30 days and carries a velocity score of 0.0 out of 10 in 2026. The alternatives below are ranked the same way, so you're comparing real release momentum, not marketing claims.
About rATTAINS
The R client for EPA water quality data spent two releases undoing its own promises about data shape.
rATTAINS wraps the EPA's ATTAINS API, which holds state water quality assessments and impaired-waters listings. The package reached 1.0.0 by promising stable, consistently rectangled return structures, then walked that promise back in 1.1.0 when it dropped the dependency doing the rectangling. As of 1.2.0 it also requires an API key, because ATTAINS itself began requiring one in May 2026.
Velocity 0.0 · Last update 47m ago
Top 12 alternatives to rATTAINS
Ranked by recent ship velocity. Tap any card for the full editorial breakdown, or pivot to a head-to-head.
ANALYTICS
A single-cell data store commits to Zarr v3 and range-readable hosting across four language surfaces
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A trend-extraction toolkit grows a full decomposition engine, seasonal components and all.
ANALYTICS
The standard QTL mapping package in R opened its genome scan to user-supplied likelihood models.
ANALYTICS
The R client for Our World in Data found its search had been reading a tenth of the catalog.
ANALYTICS
Text analysis in R keeps optimising its token internals — and builds a path out to torch
ANALYTICS
The ModernDive teaching package learns to render inside the browser that runs its own textbook
ANALYTICS
The R client for PurpleAir sensors keeps finding its time-averaging was wrong.
ANALYTICS
A board game graphics package runs one of the most disciplined deprecation cycles in R.
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The explainable-ensemble-tree package now measures whether its own explanations are faithful.
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The discrete-data FDR package is being pared into one piece of a larger multiple-testing suite.
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A scientific-text analysis package moved from counting citations to classifying argument structure.
rATTAINS vs alternatives — shipping velocity at a glance
Velocity score (0–10) and meaningful releases shipped in the last 30 days, from official changelogs. Higher = shipping faster.
| Product | Velocity | Sparks · 30d | Focus areas | Latest release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| rATTAINS (baseline) | 0.0 | 0 | water-qualityepa-datar-package | The tibblify dependency goes, and with it the stable data shapes |
| glmbayes | 6.3 | 1 | bayesian-statisticsgeneralized-linear-modelsopencl | OpenCL split out to nmathopencl; insight and bayestestR integration |
| lstar | 5.0 | 0 | single-cell-genomicszarrwasm | lstar 0.2.0 |
| trendseries | 3.8 | 1 | time-serieseconometricsr-package | Decomposition becomes a first-class operation, five methods deep |
| qtl2 | 2.5 | 0 | qtl-mappingstatistical-geneticsbioinformatics | A genome scan that takes your own likelihood function |
| r-owidapi | 2.5 | 0 | open-dataour-world-in-datar-package | — |
| quanteda | 2.5 | 0 | text-analysisnatural-language-processingr-package | CRAN v4.0 |
| moderndive | 2.5 | 0 | statistics-educationwebrregression | — |
| PurpleAir | 0.0 | 0 | air-qualitysensor-datar-package | — |
| piecepackr | 0.0 | 0 | board-gamesgraphicsr-package | — |
| e2tree | 0.0 | 0 | explainable-aiensemble-methodsdecision-trees | A significance-tested measure of explanation fidelity |
| discretefdr | 0.0 | 0 | multiple-testingfalse-discovery-ratediscrete-statistics | — |
| contentanalysis | 0.0 | 0 | text-analysisbibliometricsscientific-writing | Sentence-level rhetorical move classification arrives |
The 12 best rATTAINS alternatives, in depth
1. glmbayes · velocity 6.3
A GPU-accelerated Bayesian GLM package buys its way into the standard R Bayesian toolchain.
Over the last 30 days glmbayes shipped 1 meaningful update vs rATTAINS's 0, most recently “OpenCL split out to nmathopencl; insight and bayestestR integration”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where rATTAINS leans on water quality, epa data and r package, glmbayes focuses on bayesian statistics, generalized linear models and opencl.
Over the last 30 days glmbayes has been shipping faster than rATTAINS — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
2. lstar · velocity 5.0
A single-cell data store commits to Zarr v3 and range-readable hosting across four language surfaces.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “lstar 0.2.0”.
Where rATTAINS leans on water quality, epa data and r package, lstar focuses on single cell genomics, zarr and wasm.
lstar and rATTAINS have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
3. trendseries · velocity 3.8
A trend-extraction toolkit grows a full decomposition engine, seasonal components and all.
Over the last 30 days trendseries shipped 1 meaningful update vs rATTAINS's 0, most recently “Decomposition becomes a first-class operation, five methods deep”. Its velocity score of 3.8/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where rATTAINS leans on water quality, epa data and r package, trendseries focuses on time series, econometrics and r package.
Over the last 30 days trendseries has been shipping faster than rATTAINS — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
Full trendseries trajectory → · Compare rATTAINS vs trendseries →
4. qtl2 · velocity 2.5
The standard QTL mapping package in R opened its genome scan to user-supplied likelihood models.
Its velocity score of 2.5/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “A genome scan that takes your own likelihood function”.
Where rATTAINS leans on water quality, epa data and r package, qtl2 focuses on qtl mapping, statistical genetics and bioinformatics.
qtl2 and rATTAINS have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
5. r-owidapi · velocity 2.5
The R client for Our World in Data found its search had been reading a tenth of the catalog.
Its velocity score of 2.5/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where rATTAINS leans on water quality, epa data and r package, r-owidapi focuses on open data, our world in data and r package.
r-owidapi and rATTAINS have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full r-owidapi trajectory → · Compare rATTAINS vs r-owidapi →
6. quanteda · velocity 2.5
Text analysis in R keeps optimising its token internals — and builds a path out to torch.
Its velocity score of 2.5/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “CRAN v4.0”.
Where rATTAINS leans on water quality, epa data and r package, quanteda focuses on text analysis, natural language processing and r package.
quanteda and rATTAINS have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
7. moderndive · velocity 2.5
The ModernDive teaching package learns to render inside the browser that runs its own textbook.
Its velocity score of 2.5/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where rATTAINS leans on water quality, epa data and r package, moderndive focuses on statistics education, webr and regression.
moderndive and rATTAINS have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full moderndive trajectory → · Compare rATTAINS vs moderndive →
8. PurpleAir · velocity 0.0
The R client for PurpleAir sensors keeps finding its time-averaging was wrong.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where rATTAINS leans on water quality, epa data and r package, PurpleAir focuses on air quality, sensor data and r package.
PurpleAir and rATTAINS have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full PurpleAir trajectory → · Compare rATTAINS vs PurpleAir →
9. piecepackr · velocity 0.0
A board game graphics package runs one of the most disciplined deprecation cycles in R.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where rATTAINS leans on water quality, epa data and r package, piecepackr focuses on board games, graphics and r package.
piecepackr and rATTAINS have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full piecepackr trajectory → · Compare rATTAINS vs piecepackr →
10. e2tree · velocity 0.0
The explainable-ensemble-tree package now measures whether its own explanations are faithful.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “A significance-tested measure of explanation fidelity”.
Where rATTAINS leans on water quality, epa data and r package, e2tree focuses on explainable ai, ensemble methods and decision trees.
e2tree and rATTAINS have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
11. discretefdr · velocity 0.0
The discrete-data FDR package is being pared into one piece of a larger multiple-testing suite.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where rATTAINS leans on water quality, epa data and r package, discretefdr focuses on multiple testing, false discovery rate and discrete statistics.
discretefdr and rATTAINS have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full discretefdr trajectory → · Compare rATTAINS vs discretefdr →
12. contentanalysis · velocity 0.0
A scientific-text analysis package moved from counting citations to classifying argument structure.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “Sentence-level rhetorical move classification arrives”.
Where rATTAINS leans on water quality, epa data and r package, contentanalysis focuses on text analysis, bibliometrics and scientific writing.
contentanalysis and rATTAINS have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full contentanalysis trajectory → · Compare rATTAINS vs contentanalysis →
Frequently asked questions
What are the best alternatives to rATTAINS?
The top rATTAINS alternatives we currently track in analytics tools are glmbayes, lstar, trendseries, qtl2, r-owidapi, ranked by recent ship velocity.
How is this list of rATTAINS alternatives ranked?
Alternatives are ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score — release cadence + 30-day spark count + sector-relative ship rate.
Can I compare rATTAINS directly with one of these alternatives?
Yes — every card has a "Compare with rATTAINS" link to a side-by-side /compare page.