paleobuddy
paleobuddy can now simulate trait-dependent diversification, not just birth-death.
Comparison · Analytics
epikit vs Fulcrum
A side-by-side editorial comparison of epikit and Fulcrum — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
epikit vs Fulcrum: at a glance
| Feature | epikit | Fulcrum |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Analytics | Analytics |
| Velocity score | 0.0 | 6.3 |
| Sparks · 30d | 0 | 0 |
| Top themes | epidemiology, field-data, date-handling, r-package | gis, esri-migration, offline-maps, field-data-capture |
| Last editorial update | 1h ago | 14h ago |
| Website | Visit → | — |
What is epikit?
epikit narrows to field-epidemiology helpers, handing proportions to a sibling package
epikit is a set of small helpers for applied epidemiology in R — age categorisation, date reconstruction from partial records, and related field-data chores, developed in the R4Epis orbit. Version 0.2.0 moved the proportion functions out to epitabulate, improved how find_date_cause(), find_start_date() and find_end_date() handle dates falling outside the period, and added a floor argument to age_categories() so the lowest band reads as under one rather than zero to zero.
What is Fulcrum?
Fulcrum is betting its whole map stack on Esri, with a hard Google Maps cutoff on September 1.
Fulcrum is a field data collection platform, and nearly every entry in the last month touches mapping. The web app ships weekly fix batches for layer rendering (KML/KMZ, MBTiles, ArcGIS Feature Services), while iOS and Android push near-weekly builds against the ArcGIS SDK. Feature work is thin right now; the visible surface is stabilization around a mapping engine migration already in flight.
epikit vs Fulcrum: editorial side-by-side
epikit
0.0ANALYTICS
epikit narrows to field-epidemiology helpers, handing proportions to a sibling package
◆ Current state
epikit is a set of small helpers for applied epidemiology in R — age categorisation, date reconstruction from partial records, and related field-data chores, developed in the R4Epis orbit. Version 0.2.0 moved the proportion functions out to epitabulate, improved how find_date_cause(), find_start_date() and find_end_date() handle dates falling outside the period, and added a floor argument to age_categories() so the lowest band reads as under one rather than zero to zero.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is being scoped down rather than built out. The 0.1.3 restructuring and the 0.2.0 handover of proportions to epitabulate are the same move made twice: push functionality into the package where it belongs and keep epikit to the toolkit that field epidemiologists reach for directly. The rest of the history is dependency compatibility work against dplyr and tibble.
◆ Prediction
With proportions gone and dependencies trimmed, the remaining functions cluster tightly around dates and age bands, so further refinement of the date-reconstruction helpers is more likely than new capability areas.
Fulcrum
6.3ANALYTICS
Fulcrum is betting its whole map stack on Esri, with a hard Google Maps cutoff on September 1.
◆ Current state
Fulcrum is a field data collection platform, and nearly every entry in the last month touches mapping. The web app ships weekly fix batches for layer rendering (KML/KMZ, MBTiles, ArcGIS Feature Services), while iOS and Android push near-weekly builds against the ArcGIS SDK. Feature work is thin right now; the visible surface is stabilization around a mapping engine migration already in flight.
◆ Where it's heading
The direction is a full consolidation onto Esri. The legacy Google Maps engine is being retired on September 1 with automatic migration for anyone who hasn't switched, and Esri now carries Google's satellite and street basemaps so the imagery argument is neutralized. Underneath, the mobile SDK moved to ArcGIS 300.0.0 and ONNX on-device inference was dropped for a new INFERENCE format with labels.txt support. Offline is the second thread: downloadable layers can now be updated in place rather than deleted and recreated.
◆ Prediction
Expect the weeks before September 1 to stay dominated by migration-shaped fixes and Esri feature parity work, with the MMPK layer and Photo FastFill early-access programs the most likely to graduate to general availability next.
Alternatives to epikit and Fulcrum
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 epikit or Fulcrum.
geodist
geodist stays dependency-free and fast, and warns you when 'cheap' distances stop being honest.
errors
errors keeps making uncertainty print the way each scientific field expects.
CMAQ
CMAQ went global in v5.5, and has been patching that surface ever since.
enpls
enpls has not changed its statistics since 2016 — only its website, twice.
grex
grex is a lookup table with a version number — it ships when the annotation moves.
See all epikit alternatives → · See all Fulcrum alternatives →
Recent activity from epikit and Fulcrum
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 23h agoFulcrumWeb fixes: shared-view exports, MBTiles popups, KML and ArcGIS layers
- 3d agoFulcrumAndroid: update offline map layers in place, non-blocking Photo FastFill
- 4d agoFulcrumiOS fix: slow location resolution blocked record saves
- 8d agoFulcrumWeb: SSO email wording and ArcGIS/deck.gl version bumps
- 10d agoFulcrumAndroid fixes: ArcGIS stability, signature button, photo markup
- 10d agoFulcrumiOS fixes: basemap loading and black map screen
- 9mo agoepikitProportion functions moved to epitabulate; date helpers warn correctly
- 3y agoepikitFunctions rearranged across sibling packages
- 5y agoepikitRaise dplyr and tibble minimums; move CI to GitHub Actions
- 5y agoepikitCompatibility release for dplyr 1.0.0
- 6y agoepikitFirst CRAN release
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between epikit and Fulcrum?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Fulcrum is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 0 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 epikit better than Fulcrum?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Fulcrum is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 0 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 epikit?
Top epikit alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "epikit alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/epikit-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Fulcrum?
Top Fulcrum alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Fulcrum alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/fulcrum for the full list with editorial commentary on each.