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Comparison · Analytics
fairmodels vs SimInf
A side-by-side editorial comparison of fairmodels and SimInf — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
fairmodels vs SimInf: at a glance
What is fairmodels?
fairmodels sits dormant for three years, resurfacing only to satisfy a CRAN check.
fairmodels audits classification models for bias, built around fairness_check() and parity-loss metrics on top of DALEX explainers. The last substantive work dates from 2021; the 2025 release is a single-line change swapping ifelse for if/else in fairness_heatmap. Version 0.2.2 set the package's core design when it superseded metric differences with ratios.
What is SimInf?
SimInf 10.0 turns an epidemic simulator into a tool that fits models to real time series
SimInf simulates stochastic disease spread over networks of nodes, with a model parser that compiles user-specified transitions to C. Version 10.0.0 was a deliberate major break: the SimInf_pfilter S4 class and the bootstrap filtering interface were redesigned, a replicates slot was added to SimInf_model, a multi-particle variant of the split-step solver arrived, and the package gained Particle Markov Chain Monte Carlo fitting against observed time series. The follow-up 10.1.0 is a single zero-length memcpy fix found by CRAN's M1 checks.
fairmodels vs SimInf: editorial side-by-side
fairmodels
0.0ANALYTICS
fairmodels sits dormant for three years, resurfacing only to satisfy a CRAN check.
◆ Current state
fairmodels audits classification models for bias, built around fairness_check() and parity-loss metrics on top of DALEX explainers. The last substantive work dates from 2021; the 2025 release is a single-line change swapping ifelse for if/else in fairness_heatmap. Version 0.2.2 set the package's core design when it superseded metric differences with ratios.
◆ Where it's heading
The release history describes a package that reached its intended shape early and has been custodial since — the gap from August 2022 to October 2025 carries no functional change at all. What movement exists is CRAN-driven: documentation compliance, example runtimes, coding-style notes. The fairness metrics themselves have not changed since the parity_loss corrections of 2020.
◆ Prediction
On this cadence the next release is most likely another CRAN-prompted one-liner rather than new fairness metrics; nothing in these entries points to active development.
SimInf
0.0ANALYTICS
SimInf 10.0 turns an epidemic simulator into a tool that fits models to real time series
◆ Current state
SimInf simulates stochastic disease spread over networks of nodes, with a model parser that compiles user-specified transitions to C. Version 10.0.0 was a deliberate major break: the SimInf_pfilter S4 class and the bootstrap filtering interface were redesigned, a replicates slot was added to SimInf_model, a multi-particle variant of the split-step solver arrived, and the package gained Particle Markov Chain Monte Carlo fitting against observed time series. The follow-up 10.1.0 is a single zero-length memcpy fix found by CRAN's M1 checks.
◆ Where it's heading
The package has been moving from simulation toward inference for several releases. The 9.x line built the input side — utilities for cleaning raw individual event data, variables and enumeration constants in the model parser — and 10.0.0 closed the loop by making the simulator fittable to data through PMCMC. The version number was incremented precisely because that required breaking the particle filter interface.
◆ Prediction
Fitting machinery this new usually needs a second pass on usability, so the next releases most likely focus on diagnostics and documentation around PMCMC rather than on the simulation core, which has been stable across the whole 9.x and 10.x history.
Alternatives to fairmodels and SimInf
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 fairmodels or SimInf.
rjdqa
rjdqa keeps refining one screen: the seasonal adjustment quality dashboard
epikit
epikit narrows to field-epidemiology helpers, handing proportions to a sibling package
mutagen
A young package porting Stata's egen row-wise helpers to the tidyverse, one function per release
broman
A statistician's personal toolbox, growing one plotting utility at a time
qtl
R/qtl is in pure custodial mode: every recent release answers a compiler, not a user
See all fairmodels alternatives → · See all SimInf alternatives →
Recent activity from fairmodels and SimInf
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 9mo agoSimInfAvoid memcpy on zero-length continuous state vector
- 9mo agoSimInfPMCMC fitting arrives; particle filter interface redesigned ⚡
- 9mo agofairmodelsOne-line fix in fairness_heatmap
- 2y agoSimInfDocumentation link anchors; parser dependency fix
- 2y agoSimInfModel parser gains variables and enumeration constants
- 2y agoSimInfindividual_events() added for raw event data cleaning
- 3y agoSimInfConfigure script uses R to locate the compiler
- 3y agofairmodelsCRAN compliance fixes and citation update
- 4y agofairmodelsCRAN v1.2.0
- 5y agofairmodelsCRAN v1.1.0
- 5y agofairmodelsDocumentation fixes and trimmed example runtimes
- 5y agofairmodelsCorrects parity_loss in the cutoff functions
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between fairmodels and SimInf?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. fairmodels and SimInf 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 fairmodels better than SimInf?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. fairmodels and SimInf 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 fairmodels?
Top fairmodels alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "fairmodels alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/fairmodels for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to SimInf?
Top SimInf alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SimInf alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/siminf-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.