ANALYTICS
A tables-listings-graphs package that reached CRAN and then went quiet.
Alternatives · analytics tools
tern alternatives
The best tern alternatives in analytics tools, ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score.
Updated Aug 14, 2026
Looking for the best alternatives to tern? Sparkpulse tracks and ranks 12 alternatives in analytics tools by shipping velocity — how frequently each ships meaningful updates, verified from official changelogs. For reference, tern 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 tern
tern is migrating its entire analysis-function catalogue off make_afun(), one release at a time.
tern builds the clinical-trial tables, listings, and graphs layer on top of rtables — occurrence counts, survival summaries, ANCOVA, incidence rates, subgroup and biomarker tabulations. The visible work across the window is a systematic refactor: dozens of analysis functions rewritten to drop make_afun() and adopt a common analysis-function style driven by rtables' additional_fun_params. Feature additions ride along with it.
Velocity 0.0 · Last update 57m ago
Top 12 alternatives to tern
Ranked by recent ship velocity. Tap any card for the full editorial breakdown, or pivot to a head-to-head.
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Tplyr made clinical summary tables explain where every number came from.
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Clinical listings that keep inheriting their hardest problem — pagination — from the layer below.
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A cache-directory helper that has shipped nothing but CRAN-triggered patches for seven years.
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gigs redesigned its whole conversion API for rOpenSci, then spent three releases getting the docs to build.
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A weather-data client that keeps rewriting its HTTP layer while slowly tightening its API.
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datasetjson rebuilt its object model to track the CDISC Dataset-JSON 1.1 schema.
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A TIFF reader for scientific imaging that spent its recent releases shedding weight and fixing memory bugs.
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A reference posterior database that hit 1.0 with a paper, and is now graded on the statistics it ships.
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Markdown round-tripping through XML, where every release is another thing it learned not to mangle.
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A Qualtrics data-cleaning package that has been in maintenance mode since its CRAN acceptance.
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Geospatial targets grew from two raster helpers into a tiling and multi-backend pipeline layer.
tern 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tern (baseline) | 0.0 | 0 | clinical-trialstablesr-package | Two dozen more analysis functions drop make_afun() |
| tidytlg | 0.0 | 0 | clinical-trialstablesr-package | — |
| Tplyr | 0.0 | 0 | clinical-trialstablestraceability | 1.0.0 introduces the traceability metadata framework |
| rlistings | 0.0 | 0 | clinical-trialslistingspagination | — |
| hoardr | 0.0 | 0 | cachingr-packageropensci | — |
| gigs | 0.0 | 0 | growth-standardsneonatal-healthr-package | Conversion API rewritten around data frames and classify_growth() |
| riem | 0.0 | 0 | weather-dataapi-clientr-package | — |
| datasetjson | 0.0 | 0 | clinical-datacdiscjson | Dataset-JSON 1.1.0 support with a redesigned object model |
| ijtiff | 0.0 | 0 | imagingtiffr-package | — |
| posteriordb | 0.0 | 0 | bayesianbenchmarkingreference-data | — |
| tinkr | 0.0 | 0 | markdownxmlr-package | First release: the extensible yarn R6 class |
| excluder | 0.0 | 0 | survey-datadata-cleaningr-package | — |
| geotargets | 0.0 | 0 | geospatialpipelinesr-package | stars backend and dynamically branched raster tiles |
The 12 best tern alternatives, in depth
1. tidytlg · velocity 0.0
A tables-listings-graphs package that reached CRAN and then went quiet.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where tern leans on clinical trials, tables and r package, tidytlg focuses on clinical trials, tables and r package.
tidytlg and tern have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
2. Tplyr · velocity 0.0
Tplyr made clinical summary tables explain where every number came from.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “1.0.0 introduces the traceability metadata framework”.
Where tern leans on clinical trials, tables and r package, Tplyr focuses on clinical trials, tables and traceability.
Tplyr and tern have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
3. rlistings · velocity 0.0
Clinical listings that keep inheriting their hardest problem — pagination — from the layer below.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where tern leans on clinical trials, tables and r package, rlistings focuses on clinical trials, listings and pagination.
rlistings and tern have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
4. hoardr · velocity 0.0
A cache-directory helper that has shipped nothing but CRAN-triggered patches for seven years.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where tern leans on clinical trials, tables and r package, hoardr focuses on caching, r package and ropensci.
hoardr and tern have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
5. gigs · velocity 0.0
Gigs redesigned its whole conversion API for rOpenSci, then spent three releases getting the docs to build.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “Conversion API rewritten around data frames and classify_growth()”.
Where tern leans on clinical trials, tables and r package, gigs focuses on growth standards, neonatal health and r package.
gigs and tern have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
6. riem · velocity 0.0
A weather-data client that keeps rewriting its HTTP layer while slowly tightening its API.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where tern leans on clinical trials, tables and r package, riem focuses on weather data, api client and r package.
riem and tern have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
7. datasetjson · velocity 0.0
Datasetjson rebuilt its object model to track the CDISC Dataset-JSON 1.1 schema.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “Dataset-JSON 1.1.0 support with a redesigned object model”.
Where tern leans on clinical trials, tables and r package, datasetjson focuses on clinical data, cdisc and json.
datasetjson and tern have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full datasetjson trajectory → · Compare tern vs datasetjson →
8. ijtiff · velocity 0.0
A TIFF reader for scientific imaging that spent its recent releases shedding weight and fixing memory bugs.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where tern leans on clinical trials, tables and r package, ijtiff focuses on imaging, tiff and r package.
ijtiff and tern have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
9. posteriordb · velocity 0.0
A reference posterior database that hit 1.0 with a paper, and is now graded on the statistics it ships.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where tern leans on clinical trials, tables and r package, posteriordb focuses on bayesian, benchmarking and reference data.
posteriordb and tern have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full posteriordb trajectory → · Compare tern vs posteriordb →
10. tinkr · velocity 0.0
Markdown round-tripping through XML, where every release is another thing it learned not to mangle.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “First release: the extensible yarn R6 class”.
Where tern leans on clinical trials, tables and r package, tinkr focuses on markdown, xml and r package.
tinkr and tern have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
11. excluder · velocity 0.0
A Qualtrics data-cleaning package that has been in maintenance mode since its CRAN acceptance.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where tern leans on clinical trials, tables and r package, excluder focuses on survey data, data cleaning and r package.
excluder and tern have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
12. geotargets · velocity 0.0
Geospatial targets grew from two raster helpers into a tiling and multi-backend pipeline layer.
Its velocity score of 0.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “stars backend and dynamically branched raster tiles”.
Where tern leans on clinical trials, tables and r package, geotargets focuses on geospatial, pipelines and r package.
geotargets and tern 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 tern?
The top tern alternatives we currently track in analytics tools are tidytlg, Tplyr, rlistings, hoardr, gigs, ranked by recent ship velocity.
How is this list of tern alternatives ranked?
Alternatives are ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score — release cadence + 30-day spark count + sector-relative ship rate.
Can I compare tern directly with one of these alternatives?
Yes — every card has a "Compare with tern" link to a side-by-side /compare page.