rnaturalearth
rnaturalearth finished its sp exit and is now optimising how the data actually arrives.
Comparison · Analytics
fable vs rstanarm
A side-by-side editorial comparison of fable and rstanarm — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
fable vs rstanarm: at a glance
What is fable?
fable keeps widening its model shelf, one econometric class at a time
fable is the tidyverts forecasting engine, and its releases are almost entirely about which model families it can express. The 0.4.x line added the vector-error-correction and VARIMA classes plus impulse-response methods; 0.5.0 adds fractional differencing via ARFIMA. Between those, the releases are CRAN-check patches and documentation passes.
What is rstanarm?
rstanarm is community-maintained now, tracking Stan and lme4 rather than adding models.
2.32.2 is entirely infrastructure and dependency work: formula machinery migrated from lme4 to reformulas, `r_eff` no longer computed for loo by default, the Stan R packages repo replaced by R-Universe, rstantools adopted to fix build and export errors, and CRAN NOTE cleanups — contributed largely by four first-time contributors. 2.32.1 and 2.26.1 follow the same pattern, tracking rstan syntax and adding `posterior::as_draws()` support. The last release with substantive modelling content is 2.21.1, which changed how default priors are determined and flipped `autoscale` to FALSE outside default priors.
fable vs rstanarm: editorial side-by-side
fable
0.0ANALYTICS
fable keeps widening its model shelf, one econometric class at a time
◆ Current state
fable is the tidyverts forecasting engine, and its releases are almost entirely about which model families it can express. The 0.4.x line added the vector-error-correction and VARIMA classes plus impulse-response methods; 0.5.0 adds fractional differencing via ARFIMA. Between those, the releases are CRAN-check patches and documentation passes.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is closing the gap with the older forecast package's model coverage while keeping the tidy model-specification grammar. Each substantive release is a new model class plus the generate()/IRF() plumbing to make it behave like the existing ones. Maintenance releases cluster around CRAN policy and ggplot2/tsibble compatibility rather than internal rewrites.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next substantive release to add another model class or extend generate()/IRF() coverage to the classes that still lack them, rather than change the modelling interface.
rstanarm
0.0ANALYTICS
rstanarm is community-maintained now, tracking Stan and lme4 rather than adding models.
◆ Current state
2.32.2 is entirely infrastructure and dependency work: formula machinery migrated from lme4 to reformulas, `r_eff` no longer computed for loo by default, the Stan R packages repo replaced by R-Universe, rstantools adopted to fix build and export errors, and CRAN NOTE cleanups — contributed largely by four first-time contributors. 2.32.1 and 2.26.1 follow the same pattern, tracking rstan syntax and adding `posterior::as_draws()` support. The last release with substantive modelling content is 2.21.1, which changed how default priors are determined and flipped `autoscale` to FALSE outside default priors.
◆ Where it's heading
The package has moved from feature development into ecosystem maintenance, and the contributor list shows why it survives: outside developers keep it compiling against a moving Stan, lme4 and CRAN. The `as_draws()` support and the reformulas migration both point the same way — rstanarm increasingly consumes shared infrastructure (posterior, reformulas, rstantools) instead of carrying its own.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next release to track another upstream change — rstan, reformulas or CRAN policy — rather than add model families. The pre-fit model surface looks settled.
Alternatives to fable and rstanarm
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 fable or rstanarm.
writexl
writexl spent nine years refusing to do formatting, then shipped all of it in 2.0.0.
rgbif
rgbif is steadily pushing users off paged searching and onto real downloads.
taxa
taxa started a ground-up rewrite in 2021 and has published almost nothing since.
rotl
rotl's whole release history is keeping name matching honest against a moving taxonomy.
taxize
taxize spends its releases absorbing other people's API changes, one dead source at a time.
See all fable alternatives → · See all rstanarm alternatives →
Recent activity from fable and rstanarm
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 6mo agofablefable adds ARFIMA and fractional differencing ⚡
- 10mo agorstanarmrstanarm 2.32.2 migrates formula machinery to reformulas
- 1y agofableIndexing and generate() fixes for VECM models
- 1y agofableVECM and VARIMA models land, plus IRF for VAR and ARIMA ⚡
- 2y agofablePatch for C++ R header changes
- 2y agorstanarmrstanarm 2.32.1 fixes unit_vector error, enables LTO
- 2y agofableCRAN check patch with generate() fixes
- 2y agorstanarmrstanarm 2.26.1 adopts new rstan syntax and as_draws()
- 3y agofableTSLM forecasts gain Student's t intervals
- 4y agorstanarmrstanarm 2.21.3 fixes loo() and adds stan_jm offsets
- 6y agorstanarmrstanarm 2.21.1 changes default prior behaviour
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between fable and rstanarm?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. fable and rstanarm 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 fable better than rstanarm?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. fable and rstanarm 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 fable?
Top fable alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "fable alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/fable for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to rstanarm?
Top rstanarm alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rstanarm alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rstanarm for the full list with editorial commentary on each.