ggdemetra
A ggplot2 layer for seasonal adjustment output, filling in one plot type at a time.
Comparison · Analytics
geodist vs gtfstools
A side-by-side editorial comparison of geodist and gtfstools — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:geospatialr-package
geodist vs gtfstools: at a glance
What is geodist?
geodist stays dependency-free and fast, and warns you when 'cheap' distances stop being honest.
geodist computes geodesic distances between coordinate pairs in C with no dependencies, offering several measures that trade accuracy for speed — including a 'cheap' approximation used by default. The API is small and largely finished; 0.1.0 added geodist_min() for nearest-match lookups and 0.1.1 is a compiler warning fix.
What is gtfstools?
gtfstools stopped guarding its own object model and started accepting everyone else's.
gtfstools reads, edits, filters and validates GTFS public transport feeds in R on a data.table backend. Since 1.3.0 it accepts GTFS objects produced by other packages such as gtfsio and tidytransit, converting them through an as_dt_gtfs() generic. Validation runs MobilityData's canonical validator, now supported through v6.0.0.
geodist vs gtfstools: editorial side-by-side
geodist
0.0ANALYTICS
geodist stays dependency-free and fast, and warns you when 'cheap' distances stop being honest.
◆ Current state
geodist computes geodesic distances between coordinate pairs in C with no dependencies, offering several measures that trade accuracy for speed — including a 'cheap' approximation used by default. The API is small and largely finished; 0.1.0 added geodist_min() for nearest-match lookups and 0.1.1 is a compiler warning fix.
◆ Where it's heading
Development has been about making the speed-accuracy trade visible rather than hiding it. The 0.0.6 release added messages telling users to pick a different measure once the default cheap approximation is applied beyond 100km, where its error stops being negligible. Around that, the work is input handling — tibble support, better lon/lat column matching, vector inputs — and hardening the C code. It is a package that treats being small and correct as the feature.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued low-frequency maintenance: compiler warnings and geodesic source updates account for three of the last six releases, and the function surface has grown by only two entries in five years.
gtfstools
0.0ANALYTICS
gtfstools stopped guarding its own object model and started accepting everyone else's.
◆ Current state
gtfstools reads, edits, filters and validates GTFS public transport feeds in R on a data.table backend. Since 1.3.0 it accepts GTFS objects produced by other packages such as gtfsio and tidytransit, converting them through an as_dt_gtfs() generic. Validation runs MobilityData's canonical validator, now supported through v6.0.0.
◆ Where it's heading
The package built out a wide function surface first — filters, geometry conversion, speed and duration calculations — then turned outward. Delegating validation to MobilityData's validator and accepting other packages' objects both trade self-sufficiency for a position inside the wider GTFS ecosystem. Deprecations are handled slowly, with old behaviour left as the default for a release or more.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued validator version tracking and further completion of the deprecation cycle around filter_by_stop_id()'s full_trips behaviour.
Alternatives to geodist and gtfstools
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 geodist or gtfstools.
fossilsim
A fossil-record simulator that quietly grew a trait-evolution engine.
tern.rbmi
Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.
tern.mmrm
An MMRM tabulation package that has published nothing since its 2024 CRAN releases.
ggmagnify
A single-purpose ggplot2 inset tool, refining the same three arguments.
symengine
An R symbolic-maths binding whose changelog is really the C++ core's release notes.
See all geodist alternatives → · See all gtfstools alternatives →
Recent activity from geodist and gtfstools
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1y agogeodistgeodist 0.1.1 clears a clang warning in geodesic.c
- 1y agogtfstoolsSupports canonical GTFS validator v5 and v6
- 1y agogtfstoolsAccepts GTFS objects from gtfsio and tidytransit ⚡
- 2y agogeodistgeodist 0.1.0 adds geodist_min() for nearest matches
- 3y agogtfstoolsValidation delegated to MobilityData's canonical validator
- 3y agogeodistgeodist 0.0.8 updates geodesic source, fixes clang warnings
- 4y agogtfstoolsAdds time-of-day, weekday and frequency filtering functions
- 4y agogtfstoolsEstablishes the core GTFS filtering and sf conversion family
- 5y agogeodistgeodist 0.0.7 improves lon/lat column matching and tibbles
- 5y agogeodistgeodist 0.0.6 warns when cheap distances exceed 100km
- 6y agogeodistgeodist 0.0.4 adds geodist_vec() for vector inputs
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between geodist and gtfstools?
Both compete on the same themes — geospatial, r-package — within Analytics. geodist and gtfstools 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 geodist better than gtfstools?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. geodist and gtfstools 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 geodist?
Top geodist alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "geodist alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/geodist-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to gtfstools?
Top gtfstools alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "gtfstools alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/gtfstools-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.