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Comparison · Analytics

Appfigures vs tidyr

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Appfigures and tidyr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Appfigures vs tidyr: at a glance

FeatureAppfigurestidyr
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score3.80.0
Sparks · 30d10
Top themesapp-analytics, agentic, aso, competitive-intelligencetidyverse, data-reshaping, pivoting, api-design
Last editorial update1d ago1h ago
WebsiteVisit →

What is Appfigures?

Appfigures just made its app-market data something an AI agent can query, not something you screenshot.

Appfigures has spent the last year widening what its estimates cover — iPad data folded into every download and revenue figure, state-level financials in the API, a 15-report App Intelligence suite for competitor research, and Leaderboards that rank apps by explicit metrics instead of opaque store charts. The August release changes who consumes all of that: a CLI built specifically for AI agents, with a hinting system to keep them from misreading the data. The product is no longer only a dashboard.

Read the full Appfigures trajectory →

What is tidyr?

tidyr replaced separate() with a family that says what it does.

tidyr is at 1.3.2, a collection of argument additions — fill() gains .by, expand_grid() gains .vary — and better error messages around unchop() and pivot_wider_spec(). The structural work is 1.3.0, which introduced separate_wider_delim(), separate_wider_position(), separate_wider_regex(), separate_longer_delim() and separate_longer_position() as thorough replacements for separate(), extract() and separate_rows().

Read the full tidyr trajectory →

Appfigures vs tidyr: editorial side-by-side

A
Appfigures
ANALYTICS
3.8

Appfigures just made its app-market data something an AI agent can query, not something you screenshot.

◆ Current state

Appfigures has spent the last year widening what its estimates cover — iPad data folded into every download and revenue figure, state-level financials in the API, a 15-report App Intelligence suite for competitor research, and Leaderboards that rank apps by explicit metrics instead of opaque store charts. The August release changes who consumes all of that: a CLI built specifically for AI agents, with a hinting system to keep them from misreading the data. The product is no longer only a dashboard.

◆ Where it's heading

The arc runs from data completeness to data access. First they closed gaps in the underlying estimates, then they built more ways to slice them, and now they are exposing the whole surface to agents that can investigate, compare, monitor, and act — including replying to reviews and adjusting Apple Ads campaigns. Each layer assumes the one below it is trustworthy, which is why the accuracy fixes (iPad coverage, keyword popularity, Google Play delay removal) came first.

◆ Prediction

Expect the agent surface to deepen before it widens — more write actions exposed through the CLI, and Leaderboards and App Intelligence reports made directly queryable by agents rather than only through the web reports.

T
tidyr
ANALYTICS
0.0

tidyr replaced separate() with a family that says what it does.

◆ Current state

tidyr is at 1.3.2, a collection of argument additions — fill() gains .by, expand_grid() gains .vary — and better error messages around unchop() and pivot_wider_spec(). The structural work is 1.3.0, which introduced separate_wider_delim(), separate_wider_position(), separate_wider_regex(), separate_longer_delim() and separate_longer_position() as thorough replacements for separate(), extract() and separate_rows().

◆ Where it's heading

Two habits define this window. Verbs are being split into explicitly named variants rather than overloaded with arguments, which is what the separate_* family does to separate(). And .by is spreading as the standard way to express grouping inline — nest(.by=) in 1.3.0, fill(.by=) in 1.3.2 — pulling users away from wrapping calls in group_by().

◆ Prediction

Given that .by has now reached fill() and nest(), the next release most likely extends the same argument to further verbs rather than reworking another function family.

Alternatives to Appfigures and tidyr

Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Appfigures or tidyr.

See all Appfigures alternatives → · See all tidyr alternatives →

Recent activity from Appfigures and tidyr

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1d agoAppfiguresIntroducing the Appfigures CLI
  2. 1mo agoAppfiguresIntroducing Appfigures Leaderboards
  3. 3mo agoAppfiguresApp Intelligence for iPad
  4. 7mo agotidyrfill() gains .by; expand_grid() gains .vary
  5. 8mo agoAppfiguresSupport for By State Financial Reports via the API
  6. 8mo agoAppfiguresDaily Averages Across Reports
  7. 8mo agoAppfiguresIntroducing the New App Intelligence
  8. 2y agotidyrpivot_wider duplicate message uses modern syntax
  9. 3y agotidyrseparate_wider_* family supersedes separate() and extract()
  10. 3y agotidyrHot patch for R CMD check failures
  11. 4y agotidyrpivot_wider() gains names_expand, id_expand and unused_fn
  12. 4y agotidyrLarge speedups to unchop(), unnest() and expand_grid()

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Appfigures and tidyr?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Appfigures is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 3.8 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Appfigures better than tidyr?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Appfigures is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 3.8 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Appfigures?

Top Appfigures alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Appfigures alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/appfigures for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to tidyr?

Top tidyr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "tidyr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/tidyr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.