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Comparison · Analytics
EpiNow2 vs shapviz
A side-by-side editorial comparison of EpiNow2 and shapviz — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
EpiNow2 vs shapviz: at a glance
What is EpiNow2?
EpiNow2 unified its model interface, then went back to deepen the estimators behind it
EpiNow2 estimates reproduction numbers, infections and delay distributions from incomplete epidemiological reporting data. 1.8.0 was the structural turning point: every main modelling function now returns a consistent S3 object with `fit`, `args` and `observations`, reachable through shared accessors. The releases either side of it work on estimator quality — accumulation of irregularly reported data in 1.7.0, and a substantial expansion of `estimate_truncation()` in 1.9.0.
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.
EpiNow2 vs shapviz: editorial side-by-side
EpiNow2
0.0ANALYTICS
EpiNow2 unified its model interface, then went back to deepen the estimators behind it
◆ Current state
EpiNow2 estimates reproduction numbers, infections and delay distributions from incomplete epidemiological reporting data. 1.8.0 was the structural turning point: every main modelling function now returns a consistent S3 object with `fit`, `args` and `observations`, reachable through shared accessors. The releases either side of it work on estimator quality — accumulation of irregularly reported data in 1.7.0, and a substantial expansion of `estimate_truncation()` in 1.9.0.
◆ Where it's heading
The package spent this window paying down interface debt and is now extending from the tidier base. Options that existed only for `estimate_infections()` have been propagated outward: `estimate_truncation()` gained the full `dist_spec` delay families, `obs_opts()` observation model selection between Poisson and negative binomial, and the `likelihood` and `return_likelihood` settings that make prior-only fits and loo-compatible output possible. Hardcoded assumptions are being replaced by specifiable ones in the same motion — the truncation model's additive noise term was a fixed `sigma ~ normal(0, 1)` prior and is now a `dist_spec` argument.
◆ Prediction
Expect the remaining modelling functions to keep converging on the shared options interface, since the last two releases have each moved another function onto it. A new `estimate_dist()` for interval-censored linelist data suggests delay estimation is the area still gaining surface.
shapviz
0.0ANALYTICS
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 EpiNow2 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 EpiNow2 or shapviz.
geoarrow-r
geoarrow tracks the GeoArrow spec and otherwise just keeps compiling
n2khab
n2khab keeps retracting interpretations of habitat data it can't actually support
tidypolars
tidypolars is grinding toward complete dplyr coverage, one supported function at a time
OneSampleMR
OneSampleMR found that argument order in a formula was silently changing its estimates
bpbounds
bpbounds found the same swapped-cell bug twice and clamped its bounds back into range
See all EpiNow2 alternatives → · See all shapviz alternatives →
Recent activity from EpiNow2 and shapviz
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agoEpiNow2estimate_truncation gains full delay and observation options
- 6mo agoEpiNow2Unified return objects and shared accessors across all models ⚡
- 10mo agoshapvizggplot 4.0 compatibility fix
- 1y agoshapvizFixes duplicated bars in sv_interaction()
- 1y agoshapvizggplot2 and patchwork dependency bumps
- 1y agoshapvizShared y-axis control and bar-style interaction plots
- 1y agoEpiNow2Patch for an upstream rstan issue
- 1y agoEpiNow2Accumulation for irregularly reported data; unified priors
- 1y agoshapvizH2O random forests gain TreeSHAP support
- 1y agoEpiNow2Matern kernel spectral density fix and GP prior revert
- 1y agoshapvizFixes a broken vignette link
- 1y agoEpiNow2Gaussian Process model improvements and explicit defaults
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between EpiNow2 and shapviz?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. EpiNow2 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 EpiNow2 better than shapviz?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. EpiNow2 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 EpiNow2?
Top EpiNow2 alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "EpiNow2 alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/epinow2 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.