randomwalk
randomwalk spent every release getting an R simulation to run in the browser, not on a server.
Comparison · Analytics
gcube vs ggstats
A side-by-side editorial comparison of gcube and ggstats — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
gcube vs ggstats: at a glance
What is gcube?
gcube's recent releases are all packaging metadata, not simulation code
gcube simulates biodiversity data cubes — generating occurrence points, sampling them under configurable detection bias, and designating them to a grid — as a testbed for the B-Cubed project's indicator tooling. The visible release history is almost entirely metadata and release-automation work: Zenodo grant IDs, ROR URL fixes, publisher fields, funder and rights-holder descriptions. The simulation functionality itself is not what these entries are about.
What is ggstats?
ggstats keeps widening what a coefficient or Likert plot can be
ggstats extends ggplot2 with statistical plotting: model coefficient plots, Likert and diverging bar charts, proportion geometries and the helpers that make them behave. Recent releases have added an experimental gglikert_side(), left and right total columns for gglikert(), and survey-object support across the Likert family. Development is steady and CRAN-paced, with releases every two to three months.
gcube vs ggstats: editorial side-by-side
gcube
0.0ANALYTICS
gcube's recent releases are all packaging metadata, not simulation code
◆ Current state
gcube simulates biodiversity data cubes — generating occurrence points, sampling them under configurable detection bias, and designating them to a grid — as a testbed for the B-Cubed project's indicator tooling. The visible release history is almost entirely metadata and release-automation work: Zenodo grant IDs, ROR URL fixes, publisher fields, funder and rights-holder descriptions. The simulation functionality itself is not what these entries are about.
◆ Where it's heading
The February 2026 cluster reads as a package wiring up its archival identity rather than developing: four releases in four days, one of them explicitly a test of the GitHub release path. That is characteristic of research software preparing to be cited — a Zenodo DOI, correct funder attribution and a checklist-compliant description are the deliverables when the funder requires them. Substantive work on mapping functions and grid designation appears earlier and only through tutorial fixes.
◆ Prediction
With the Zenodo integration and metadata now settled, expect attention to return to the simulation functions themselves, most likely driven by what the sibling indicator packages need to test against.
ggstats
0.0ANALYTICS
ggstats keeps widening what a coefficient or Likert plot can be
◆ Current state
ggstats extends ggplot2 with statistical plotting: model coefficient plots, Likert and diverging bar charts, proportion geometries and the helpers that make them behave. Recent releases have added an experimental gglikert_side(), left and right total columns for gglikert(), and survey-object support across the Likert family. Development is steady and CRAN-paced, with releases every two to three months.
◆ Where it's heading
Two long-running threads. The coefficient side has been consolidating — ggcoef_multinom() and ggcoef_multicomponents() soft-deprecated in favour of a unified ggcoef_model() with group_by, plus new ggcoef_dodged() and ggcoef_faceted() variants. The Likert side keeps expanding outward instead, absorbing survey objects, total columns and side-by-side layouts. Underneath both is a steady tax of ggplot2 and vctrs compatibility work, including tracking the geom_errorbarh() deprecation in ggplot2 4.0.0.
◆ Prediction
Expect gglikert_side() to lose its experimental status once its interface settles, and the deprecated multinomial entry points to be removed in a future release now that ggcoef_model() covers their cases.
Alternatives to gcube and ggstats
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 gcube or ggstats.
fastml
fastml added survival modelling and leakage-proof resampling, moving past classification and regression.
abclass
abclass built out angle-based classifiers in 2022, then went quiet except for CRAN upkeep.
churon
churon is spending its entire release history getting a Rust ONNX binding through CRAN.
firatheme
firatheme woke up after four years and started fixing what ggplot2 changed underneath it.
bagyo
bagyo reached CRAN as a Philippine tropical cyclone dataset, with its tags stamped out of order.
See all gcube alternatives → · See all ggstats alternatives →
Recent activity from gcube and ggstats
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 5mo agoggstatsgglikert_side() and total columns for Likert plots
- 5mo agogcubeGrant ID no longer uses a DOI
- 5mo agogcubeZenodo grant ID, publisher metadata and a ROR URL fix
- 6mo agogcubeRelease v1.4.2
- 7mo agogcubeRelease v1.4.1
- 7mo agogcubeInstallation instructions, spelling and funder descriptions
- 7mo agoggstatsLikert functions accept survey objects
- 11mo agoggstatsTable output for ggcoef_compare(); x-axis limits harmonised
- 1y agoggstatsggstats 0.10.0
- 1y agogcubeRelease v1.3.7
- 1y agoggstatsCoefficient plots unified around ggcoef_model() with grouping
- 1y agoggstatsDiverging and Likert geoms redesigned; connector geoms added
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between gcube and ggstats?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. gcube and ggstats 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 gcube better than ggstats?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. gcube and ggstats 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 gcube?
Top gcube alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "gcube alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/gcube for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to ggstats?
Top ggstats alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "ggstats alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/ggstats for the full list with editorial commentary on each.