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fastglm vs susier

A side-by-side editorial comparison of fastglm and susier — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:r-package

fastglm vs susier: at a glance

Featurefastglmsusier
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesstatistical-computing, generalized-linear-models, cpp, r-packager-package, statistical-genetics, fine-mapping, cpp-bindings
Last editorial update2h ago57m ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is fastglm?

A fast GLM solver stops being one function and becomes a count-model family

fastglm ran C++ IRLS for standard generalized linear models for six years with almost no releases. In May 2026 it added three top-level model types — negative binomial with jointly estimated dispersion, hurdle, and zero-inflated — each with the entire fitting driver in C++ rather than an R loop around a C++ kernel. The following release generalised Firth bias reduction to every standard family across dense, sparse and streaming backends.

Read the full fastglm trajectory →

What is susier?

Fine-mapping workhorse susieR spends its releases hunting null-effect trimming bugs

susieR implements the Sum of Single Effects regression model for variable selection and fine-mapping, widely used in statistical genetics. The recent releases are a tight run of correctness work concentrated in one area: null effect trimming. Version 0.15.55 fixed trimming under the Servin-Stephens residual variance method, 0.15.56 fixed it again for non-uniform prior weights fourteen minutes later, 0.15.57 corrected an ELBO null space term for RSS with X and a matrix symmetry check, and 0.15.58 addressed an alpha0/beta0 issue. Version 0.16.0 migrates the C++ bindings from Rcpp to cpp11 with cpp11armadillo.

Read the full susier trajectory →

fastglm vs susier: editorial side-by-side

F
fastglm
ANALYTICS
0.0

A fast GLM solver stops being one function and becomes a count-model family

◆ Current state

fastglm ran C++ IRLS for standard generalized linear models for six years with almost no releases. In May 2026 it added three top-level model types — negative binomial with jointly estimated dispersion, hurdle, and zero-inflated — each with the entire fitting driver in C++ rather than an R loop around a C++ kernel. The following release generalised Firth bias reduction to every standard family across dense, sparse and streaming backends.

◆ Where it's heading

The package changed what it is. Through 0.0.3 it was a drop-in replacement for glm() competing on speed; from 0.1.0 it targets the models people leave base R for — MASS::glm.nb, pscl::hurdle, pscl::zeroinfl — and reimplements their full estimation loops natively. The 0.1.1 follow-up is consolidation on that new surface: Firth generalised past binomial logit, SQUAREM acceleration on the zero-inflation EM driver, and a run of clamping guards and initialization fixes on the families most prone to overflow.

◆ Prediction

The numerical-stability work in 0.1.1 clusters on Tweedie and the inverse and sqrt link families, which suggests those paths are the newest and least exercised — expect further correctness fixes there before new model types.

S
susier
ANALYTICS
0.0

Fine-mapping workhorse susieR spends its releases hunting null-effect trimming bugs

◆ Current state

susieR implements the Sum of Single Effects regression model for variable selection and fine-mapping, widely used in statistical genetics. The recent releases are a tight run of correctness work concentrated in one area: null effect trimming. Version 0.15.55 fixed trimming under the Servin-Stephens residual variance method, 0.15.56 fixed it again for non-uniform prior weights fourteen minutes later, 0.15.57 corrected an ELBO null space term for RSS with X and a matrix symmetry check, and 0.15.58 addressed an alpha0/beta0 issue. Version 0.16.0 migrates the C++ bindings from Rcpp to cpp11 with cpp11armadillo.

◆ Where it's heading

The version-number churn understates how narrow this work is — four consecutive releases touching the same trimming and residual-variance machinery suggests one area where the implementation and the intended behavior had drifted apart. The 0.16.0 binding migration is the only structural change, and it is invisible to users while mattering for build portability and long-term maintenance. Development is clearly active, with automated release tooling and dependency bumps flowing through the same stream.

◆ Prediction

With the binding migration just landed, near-term releases are likely to address fallout from it alongside continued fixes in the same trimming and residual-variance code.

Alternatives to fastglm and susier

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 fastglm or susier.

See all fastglm alternatives → · See all susier alternatives →

Recent activity from fastglm and susier

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 2mo agofastglmFirth generalised to all families, plus SQUAREM and stability fixes
  2. 3mo agofastglmCRAN release 0.1.0
  3. 3mo agosusierMigrates C++ bindings from Rcpp to cpp11 and cpp11armadillo
  4. 3mo agosusierFixes alpha0/beta0 handling under Servin-Stephens
  5. 4mo agosusierCorrects the null space ELBO term for RSS with X
  6. 5mo agosusierFixes null effect trimming with non-uniform prior weights
  7. 5mo agosusierFixes null effect trimming under Servin-Stephens estimation
  8. 4y agofastglmC++ headers exposed for linking
  9. 7y agofastglmFirst CRAN release of the C++ IRLS solver

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between fastglm and susier?

Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. fastglm and susier 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 fastglm better than susier?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. fastglm and susier 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 fastglm?

Top fastglm alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "fastglm alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/fastglm for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to susier?

Top susier alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "susier alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/susier for the full list with editorial commentary on each.