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Comparison · Analytics

epiflows vs shapviz

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

epiflows vs shapviz: at a glance

Featureepiflowsshapviz
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesr, epidemiology, dormant, maintenanceshap, visualization, model explainability, ggplot2
Last editorial update1h ago7h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is epiflows?

epiflows has shipped four releases in eight years, none of which changed the code.

epiflows predicts the spread of infectious disease along population flows between locations, and it is effectively dormant. The whole visible history spans 2018 to 2026 in four entries: the first CRAN release, a Zenodo archival tag, a Roxygen patch whose notes state the functionality is unchanged, and a 2026 release replacing deprecated ggplot2 and tibble calls. No entry describes new epidemiological capability.

Read the full epiflows trajectory →

What is shapviz?

shapviz refines its SHAP plots release by release while chasing ggplot2's moving target.

shapviz turns SHAP values from XGBoost, LightGBM, H2O, kernelshap and other sources into standard diagnostic plots — importance, dependence, waterfall, force and interaction. Recent work is plot ergonomics: shared y-axis control across dependence plots, a bar view for interaction values, and axis collection via patchwork. The two most recent releases are pure compatibility and bug fixes.

Read the full shapviz trajectory →

epiflows vs shapviz: editorial side-by-side

E
epiflows
ANALYTICS
0.0

epiflows has shipped four releases in eight years, none of which changed the code.

◆ Current state

epiflows predicts the spread of infectious disease along population flows between locations, and it is effectively dormant. The whole visible history spans 2018 to 2026 in four entries: the first CRAN release, a Zenodo archival tag, a Roxygen patch whose notes state the functionality is unchanged, and a 2026 release replacing deprecated ggplot2 and tibble calls. No entry describes new epidemiological capability.

◆ Where it's heading

The package is being kept installable rather than developed. The one recent release is dependency maintenance contributed from outside, which is the pattern for RECON-era epidemiology packages that have outlived their original project funding. Two separate entries are both labelled version 0.2.1, so even the version history is not a reliable guide to what changed.

◆ Prediction

Any further releases will most likely be more deprecation cleanup to keep the package on CRAN; there is nothing in the record suggesting active development has resumed.

S
shapviz
ANALYTICS
0.0

shapviz refines its SHAP plots release by release while chasing ggplot2's moving target.

◆ Current state

shapviz turns SHAP values from XGBoost, LightGBM, H2O, kernelshap and other sources into standard diagnostic plots — importance, dependence, waterfall, force and interaction. Recent work is plot ergonomics: shared y-axis control across dependence plots, a bar view for interaction values, and axis collection via patchwork. The two most recent releases are pure compatibility and bug fixes.

◆ Where it's heading

Two threads run in parallel here. One is visual refinement converging on conventions from Python's shap — the 0.10.0 notes openly float switching share_y to TRUE to match it. The other is connector maintenance, keeping pace with H2O, XGBoost 1.x and 2.x, shapr and permshap as each changes. Neither thread adds new explanation methods; shapviz's job is presentation, and it is being polished rather than extended.

◆ Prediction

Expect share_y = TRUE to become the default and further ggplot2 4.x fallout, with connector updates arriving as the upstream SHAP packages release.

Alternatives to epiflows and shapviz

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 epiflows or shapviz.

See all epiflows alternatives → · See all shapviz alternatives →

Recent activity from epiflows and shapviz

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

  1. 5mo agoepiflowsDeprecated ggplot2 and tibble calls replaced
  2. 10mo agoshapvizggplot 4.0 compatibility fix
  3. 1y agoshapvizFixes duplicated bars in sv_interaction()
  4. 1y agoshapvizggplot2 and patchwork dependency bumps
  5. 1y agoshapvizShared y-axis control and bar-style interaction plots
  6. 1y agoshapvizH2O random forests gain TreeSHAP support
  7. 1y agoshapvizFixes a broken vignette link
  8. 3y agoepiflowsRoxygen patch for CRAN checks
  9. 7y agoepiflowsFirst Zenodo archival tag
  10. 8y agoepiflowsFirst CRAN release

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between epiflows and shapviz?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. epiflows and shapviz 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 epiflows better than shapviz?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. epiflows and shapviz 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 epiflows?

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

What are the best alternatives to shapviz?

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