ANALYTICS
writexl spent nine years refusing to do formatting, then shipped all of it in 2.0.0.
Alternatives · analytics tools
rstanarm alternatives
The best rstanarm alternatives in analytics tools, ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score.
Updated Aug 13, 2026
Looking for the best alternatives to rstanarm? Sparkpulse tracks and ranks 12 alternatives in analytics tools by shipping velocity — how frequently each ships meaningful updates, verified from official changelogs. For reference, rstanarm 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 rstanarm
rstanarm is community-maintained now, tracking Stan and lme4 rather than adding models.
2.32.2 is entirely infrastructure and dependency work: formula machinery migrated from lme4 to reformulas, `r_eff` no longer computed for loo by default, the Stan R packages repo replaced by R-Universe, rstantools adopted to fix build and export errors, and CRAN NOTE cleanups — contributed largely by four first-time contributors. 2.32.1 and 2.26.1 follow the same pattern, tracking rstan syntax and adding `posterior::as_draws()` support. The last release with substantive modelling content is 2.21.1, which changed how default priors are determined and flipped `autoscale` to FALSE outside default priors.
Velocity 0.0 · Last update 54m ago
Top 12 alternatives to rstanarm
Ranked by recent ship velocity. Tap any card for the full editorial breakdown, or pivot to a head-to-head.
ANALYTICS
mlr3viz keeps the ecosystem's plots working while the plots themselves move out
ANALYTICS
mlr3tuning is rebuilding its async machinery under a stable public surface
ANALYTICS
mlr3mbo picked its defaults from a benchmark study, not from taste
ANALYTICS
rnaturalearth finished its sp exit and is now optimising how the data actually arrives.
ANALYTICS
rgbif is steadily pushing users off paged searching and onto real downloads.
ANALYTICS
taxa started a ground-up rewrite in 2021 and has published almost nothing since.
ANALYTICS
rotl's whole release history is keeping name matching honest against a moving taxonomy.
ANALYTICS
taxize spends its releases absorbing other people's API changes, one dead source at a time.
ANALYTICS
osmdata keeps tightening its Overpass query surface, breaking small things to get types right.
ANALYTICS
posterior keeps deepening two things: the rvar type and Pareto-based diagnostics.
ANALYTICS
rredlist threw out its species-centric API in 1.0.0 and rebuilt around assessments.
rstanarm 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| rstanarm (baseline) | 0.0 | 0 | bayesianstanregression-models | — |
| writexl | 6.3 | 1 | xlsxlibxlsxwritercell-formatting | writexl 2.0.0 adds formatting, comments and full libxlsxwriter coverage |
| mlr3viz | 2.5 | 0 | mlr3visualizationggplot2 | — |
| mlr3tuning | 2.5 | 0 | mlr3hyperparameter-tuningasync-optimization | — |
| mlr3mbo | 2.5 | 0 | bayesian-optimizationmlr3hyperparameter-tuning | mlr3mbo 1.0.0 ships benchmark-derived default settings |
| rnaturalearth | 0.0 | 0 | spatial-datanatural-earthsf-migration | — |
| rgbif | 0.0 | 0 | gbifbiodiversity-databulk-downloads | rgbif 3.8.1 adds SQL-based occurrence downloads |
| taxa | 0.0 | 0 | taxonomyvctrsstalled-rewrite | taxa 0.4.0 begins a base-R-vector rewrite without taxmap |
| rotl | 0.0 | 0 | open-tree-of-lifetaxonomic-matchingreproducibility | — |
| taxize | 0.0 | 0 | taxonomyapi-aggregationupstream-churn | — |
| osmdata | 0.0 | 0 | openstreetmapoverpass-apispatial-data | — |
| posterior | 0.0 | 0 | bayesianrvarpareto-diagnostics | — |
| rredlist | 0.0 | 0 | iucn-red-listapi-migrationbreaking-change | rredlist 1.0.0 rebuilds on IUCN Red List API v4 |
The 12 best rstanarm alternatives, in depth
1. writexl · velocity 6.3
Writexl spent nine years refusing to do formatting, then shipped all of it in 2.0.0.
Over the last 30 days writexl shipped 1 meaningful update vs rstanarm's 0, most recently “writexl 2.0.0 adds formatting, comments and full libxlsxwriter coverage”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where rstanarm leans on bayesian, stan and regression models, writexl focuses on xlsx, libxlsxwriter and cell formatting.
Over the last 30 days writexl has been shipping faster than rstanarm — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
2. mlr3viz · velocity 2.5
Mlr3viz keeps the ecosystem's plots working while the plots themselves move out.
Its velocity score of 2.5/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where rstanarm leans on bayesian, stan and regression models, mlr3viz focuses on mlr3, visualization and ggplot2.
mlr3viz and rstanarm have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
3. mlr3tuning · velocity 2.5
Mlr3tuning is rebuilding its async machinery under a stable public surface.
Its velocity score of 2.5/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where rstanarm leans on bayesian, stan and regression models, mlr3tuning focuses on mlr3, hyperparameter tuning and async optimization.
mlr3tuning and rstanarm have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full mlr3tuning trajectory → · Compare rstanarm vs mlr3tuning →
4. mlr3mbo · velocity 2.5
Mlr3mbo picked its defaults from a benchmark study, not from taste.
Its velocity score of 2.5/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “mlr3mbo 1.0.0 ships benchmark-derived default settings”.
Where rstanarm leans on bayesian, stan and regression models, mlr3mbo focuses on bayesian optimization, mlr3 and hyperparameter tuning.
mlr3mbo and rstanarm have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
5. rnaturalearth · velocity 0.0
Rnaturalearth finished its sp exit and is now optimising how the data actually arrives.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where rstanarm leans on bayesian, stan and regression models, rnaturalearth focuses on spatial data, natural earth and sf migration.
rnaturalearth and rstanarm have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full rnaturalearth trajectory → · Compare rstanarm vs rnaturalearth →
6. rgbif · velocity 0.0
Rgbif is steadily pushing users off paged searching and onto real downloads.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “rgbif 3.8.1 adds SQL-based occurrence downloads”.
Where rstanarm leans on bayesian, stan and regression models, rgbif focuses on gbif, biodiversity data and bulk downloads.
rgbif and rstanarm have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
7. taxa · velocity 0.0
Taxa started a ground-up rewrite in 2021 and has published almost nothing since.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “taxa 0.4.0 begins a base-R-vector rewrite without taxmap”.
Where rstanarm leans on bayesian, stan and regression models, taxa focuses on taxonomy, vctrs and stalled rewrite.
taxa and rstanarm have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
8. rotl · velocity 0.0
Rotl's whole release history is keeping name matching honest against a moving taxonomy.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where rstanarm leans on bayesian, stan and regression models, rotl focuses on open tree of life, taxonomic matching and reproducibility.
rotl and rstanarm have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
9. taxize · velocity 0.0
Taxize spends its releases absorbing other people's API changes, one dead source at a time.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where rstanarm leans on bayesian, stan and regression models, taxize focuses on taxonomy, api aggregation and upstream churn.
taxize and rstanarm have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
10. osmdata · velocity 0.0
Osmdata keeps tightening its Overpass query surface, breaking small things to get types right.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where rstanarm leans on bayesian, stan and regression models, osmdata focuses on openstreetmap, overpass api and spatial data.
osmdata and rstanarm have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
11. posterior · velocity 0.0
Posterior keeps deepening two things: the rvar type and Pareto-based diagnostics.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where rstanarm leans on bayesian, stan and regression models, posterior focuses on bayesian, rvar and pareto diagnostics.
posterior and rstanarm have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full posterior trajectory → · Compare rstanarm vs posterior →
12. rredlist · velocity 0.0
Rredlist threw out its species-centric API in 1.0.0 and rebuilt around assessments.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “rredlist 1.0.0 rebuilds on IUCN Red List API v4”.
Where rstanarm leans on bayesian, stan and regression models, rredlist focuses on iucn red list, api migration and breaking change.
rredlist and rstanarm have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best alternatives to rstanarm?
The top rstanarm alternatives we currently track in analytics tools are writexl, mlr3viz, mlr3tuning, mlr3mbo, rnaturalearth, ranked by recent ship velocity.
How is this list of rstanarm alternatives ranked?
Alternatives are ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score — release cadence + 30-day spark count + sector-relative ship rate.
Can I compare rstanarm directly with one of these alternatives?
Yes — every card has a "Compare with rstanarm" link to a side-by-side /compare page.