easystats
The easystats meta-package is install tooling wrapped around a relicensed ecosystem.
Comparison · Analytics
billboarder vs dtplyr
A side-by-side editorial comparison of billboarder and dtplyr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
billboarder vs dtplyr: at a glance
What is billboarder?
An htmlwidget whose release notes are mostly billboard.js version bumps, quiet since 2021.
billboarder wraps the billboard.js charting library as an R htmlwidget, with Shiny proxy support for live updates. Most releases restate an upstream library version; the package's own additions arrive one function at a time, such as bauge(), bb_export() and set_color_palette(). The visible history stops at v0.3.1 in May 2021.
What is dtplyr?
dtplyr stopped hijacking data.table objects and became an opt-in translator
dtplyr converts dplyr and tidyr code into data.table syntax, and 1.3.0 redrew its boundary: verbs no longer dispatch to dtplyr translations just because dtplyr is loaded, so lazy_dt() has to be called explicitly. Since then the work has been translation coverage — reframe(), case_match(), consecutive_id() — plus a long tail of correctness fixes in grouping and .by.
billboarder vs dtplyr: editorial side-by-side
billboarder
0.0ANALYTICS
An htmlwidget whose release notes are mostly billboard.js version bumps, quiet since 2021.
◆ Current state
billboarder wraps the billboard.js charting library as an R htmlwidget, with Shiny proxy support for live updates. Most releases restate an upstream library version; the package's own additions arrive one function at a time, such as bauge(), bb_export() and set_color_palette(). The visible history stops at v0.3.1 in May 2021.
◆ Where it's heading
The package tracks billboard.js rather than leading it, and the R-side features that do appear are thin conveniences over capabilities upstream already shipped. The one directional move visible here is 0.3.0's adoption of aes()-style mapping, which pulls the API toward tidyverse conventions. Nothing since 2021 suggests that convergence continued.
◆ Prediction
If the package resumes, the pattern points to another billboard.js bump with a small Shiny helper attached; the entries show no sign of a broader API rework.
dtplyr
0.0ANALYTICS
dtplyr stopped hijacking data.table objects and became an opt-in translator
◆ Current state
dtplyr converts dplyr and tidyr code into data.table syntax, and 1.3.0 redrew its boundary: verbs no longer dispatch to dtplyr translations just because dtplyr is loaded, so lazy_dt() has to be called explicitly. Since then the work has been translation coverage — reframe(), case_match(), consecutive_id() — plus a long tail of correctness fixes in grouping and .by.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is trailing dplyr's own feature releases rather than leading them, adding each new verb once it settles upstream. Performance work is targeted at specific verbs where data.table has a faster primitive: setorder() for arrange(), reference drops for select(), rleid() for consecutive_id(). Release cadence has thinned considerably since 2023.
◆ Prediction
Expect further one-for-one translations as dplyr adds verbs, and continued fixes around .by and non-standard column names; the entries show no sign of a broader redesign.
Alternatives to billboarder and dtplyr
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 billboarder or dtplyr.
discrim
discrim settled into a thin engine shim after handing its model definitions to parsnip.
dbparser
dbparser shed its database and CSV writers to become just a DrugBank parser.
desirability2
desirability2 is making multi-metric model selection a first-class tidymodels step.
crosstalk
crosstalk is frozen infrastructure: four releases in five years, mostly CRAN upkeep.
cmdstanr
cmdstanr keeps adding fast approximations beside full HMC, and fighting Windows toolchains.
See all billboarder alternatives → · See all dtplyr alternatives →
Recent activity from billboarder and dtplyr
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 11mo agodtplyrreframe(), case_match() and consecutive_id() gain translations
- 3y agodtplyrcrayon dependency dropped
- 3y agodtplyrVerbs stop auto-dispatching; lazy_dt() now required ⚡
- 3y agodtplyrdtplyr 1.2.2
- 4y agodtplyrdtplyr 1.2.1
- 4y agodtplyrEight tidyr verbs gain data.table translations
- 5y agobillboarderbillboard.js updated to 3.0.1
- 5y agobillboarderaes() mapping, set_color_palette() and a datalab theme
- 6y agobillboarderbb_export() adds PNG chart export for Shiny apps
- 6y agobillboarderbillboard.js upgraded to 1.10.0
- 7y agobillboarderbauge() adds a self-updating gauge for Shiny
- 7y agobillboarderbillboard.js upgraded to 1.7.0
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between billboarder and dtplyr?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. billboarder and dtplyr are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is billboarder better than dtplyr?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. billboarder and dtplyr are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to billboarder?
Top billboarder alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "billboarder alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/billboarder for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to dtplyr?
Top dtplyr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "dtplyr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/dtplyr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.