mrbayes
mrbayes spent 2026 auditing its own Bayesian MR estimators for coding errors.
Comparison · Analytics
EpiNow2 vs trias
A side-by-side editorial comparison of EpiNow2 and trias — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
EpiNow2 vs trias: 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 trias?
Belgium's invasive-species indicator toolkit is in steady refinement, one plotting edge case at a time.
trias computes and visualizes indicators for the Belgian Tracking Invasive Alien Species project — emergence detection via GAMs, introduction pathway breakdowns following CBD categories, and native range trends. The recent releases are narrow: GAM plots can now be produced without textual annotation when the model cannot be fitted, and apply_decision_rules() no longer supplies a default for a required argument.
EpiNow2 vs trias: 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.
trias
0.0ANALYTICS
Belgium's invasive-species indicator toolkit is in steady refinement, one plotting edge case at a time.
◆ Current state
trias computes and visualizes indicators for the Belgian Tracking Invasive Alien Species project — emergence detection via GAMs, introduction pathway breakdowns following CBD categories, and native range trends. The recent releases are narrow: GAM plots can now be produced without textual annotation when the model cannot be fitted, and apply_decision_rules() no longer supplies a default for a required argument.
◆ Where it's heading
Development runs in small, fast patches concentrated on making the indicator functions survive imperfect real-world input — pathways absent from the data, GAMs that will not converge, checklist files with unexpected columns. A second thread trims the package's own surface in favor of the data it ships, deprecating pathways_cbd() in favor of using the pathwayscbd data frame directly, while get_nubkeys() extends reach into GBIF Backbone taxon key resolution.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued patch-level hardening of the visualization functions and further reliance on GBIF services for taxon resolution, with no sign of a structural change to the indicator set.
Alternatives to EpiNow2 and trias
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 trias.
lineup2
lineup2 ships once every few years, and 2026's release is a logo and a core-count tweak.
stringi
stringi has spent two years on build hardening since its Unicode 15.1 reset.
OHPL
A 2017 chemometrics method frozen in place, visited only when CRAN changes its documentation rules.
fastplyr
A fast dplyr stand-in that keeps finding new places to skip work entirely.
icesSAG
The ICES stock assessment client took upload away in 2024 and spent two years giving it back.
See all EpiNow2 alternatives → · See all trias alternatives →
Recent activity from EpiNow2 and trias
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agoEpiNow2estimate_truncation gains full delay and observation options
- 3mo agotriasGAM plots survive models that cannot be fitted
- 5mo agotriasColumn validation added to the download list update
- 6mo agoEpiNow2Unified return objects and shared accessors across all models ⚡
- 6mo agotriasY-axis tick values corrected in pathway plots
- 6mo agotriasZenodo integration patch removes the DOI badge
- 6mo agotriasget_nubkeys() resolves GBIF Backbone taxon keys
- 6mo agotriaspathways_cbd() deprecated in favor of its data frame
- 1y agoEpiNow2Patch for an upstream rstan issue
- 1y agoEpiNow2Accumulation for irregularly reported data; unified priors
- 1y agoEpiNow2Matern kernel spectral density fix and GP prior revert
- 1y agoEpiNow2Gaussian Process model improvements and explicit defaults
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between EpiNow2 and trias?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. EpiNow2 and trias 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 trias?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. EpiNow2 and trias 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 trias?
Top trias alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "trias alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/trias-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.