rnaturalearth
rnaturalearth finished its sp exit and is now optimising how the data actually arrives.
Comparison · Analytics
ggraph vs rgbif
A side-by-side editorial comparison of ggraph and rgbif — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
ggraph vs rgbif: at a glance
What is ggraph?
ggraph has settled into ggplot2 compatibility duty
ggraph provides the grammar of graphics for network and tree data. Its recent releases are compatibility and bug-fix work — a collapse fix in get_edges() alongside ggplot2 v4.0.0 upkeep, and before that a pipe rollback. The last release with real content was 2.2.0, a long list of layout and edge-geom corrections.
What is rgbif?
rgbif is steadily pushing users off paged searching and onto real downloads.
rgbif ships several times a year and the recent releases cluster around downloads. 3.8.1 added `occ_download_sql()` for SQL-based occurrence downloads; 3.8.2 added DOI-to-download-key resolution and institutionKey downloads; 3.8.3 relayed GBIF's new throttling of bulk paging through `occ_search()` with a message pointing users at `occ_download()`; 3.8.5 added a family of `occ_download_stats_*()` functions plus multiple-taxonomy and verbatim-extension downloads. Alongside that, `name_backbone()` moved to GBIF API v2, and 3.8.0 soft-deprecated `occ_data()`.
ggraph vs rgbif: editorial side-by-side
ggraph
0.0ANALYTICS
ggraph has settled into ggplot2 compatibility duty
◆ Current state
ggraph provides the grammar of graphics for network and tree data. Its recent releases are compatibility and bug-fix work — a collapse fix in get_edges() alongside ggplot2 v4.0.0 upkeep, and before that a pipe rollback. The last release with real content was 2.2.0, a long list of layout and edge-geom corrections.
◆ Where it's heading
The feature surface looks finished and the maintenance is about keeping it working under a moving ggplot2. The one architectural move in this window — pushing dendrogram layout into compiled code to escape R's recursion limits, back in 2.1.0 — was about scaling existing features, not adding new ones.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next release to follow ggplot2 4.0.0 rather than introduce layouts or edge geoms.
rgbif
0.0ANALYTICS
rgbif is steadily pushing users off paged searching and onto real downloads.
◆ Current state
rgbif ships several times a year and the recent releases cluster around downloads. 3.8.1 added `occ_download_sql()` for SQL-based occurrence downloads; 3.8.2 added DOI-to-download-key resolution and institutionKey downloads; 3.8.3 relayed GBIF's new throttling of bulk paging through `occ_search()` with a message pointing users at `occ_download()`; 3.8.5 added a family of `occ_download_stats_*()` functions plus multiple-taxonomy and verbatim-extension downloads. Alongside that, `name_backbone()` moved to GBIF API v2, and 3.8.0 soft-deprecated `occ_data()`.
◆ Where it's heading
Two things are happening at once. GBIF is discouraging bulk retrieval through the search API, and rgbif is building out the download path fast enough to absorb the traffic — SQL queries, DOI round-tripping, format description, and now statistics about the downloads themselves. Metadata coverage has expanded in parallel, with a dozen `dataset_*()` functions in 3.7.9 and GRSciColl institution search in 3.8.3. The deprecations are consistent: `occ_data()`, `occ_facet()`, `occ_count(type=)` all retired in favour of narrower replacements.
◆ Prediction
The download surface is where the next additions will land — likely more SQL-download tooling and further statistics endpoints, following 3.8.1 and 3.8.5.
Alternatives to ggraph and rgbif
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 ggraph or rgbif.
writexl
writexl spent nine years refusing to do formatting, then shipped all of it in 2.0.0.
rstanarm
rstanarm is community-maintained now, tracking Stan and lme4 rather than adding models.
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 ggraph alternatives → · See all rgbif alternatives →
Recent activity from ggraph and rgbif
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 4mo agorgbifrgbif 3.8.5 adds occurrence download statistics functions
- 8mo agorgbifrgbif 3.8.4 moves name matching to GBIF API v2
- 11mo agorgbifrgbif 3.8.3 adds GRSciColl search, relays GBIF paging throttle
- 11mo agoggraphget_edges() collapse fix and ggplot2 v4 upkeep
- 1y agorgbifrgbif 3.8.2 resolves download DOIs to keys
- 1y agorgbifrgbif 3.8.1 adds SQL-based occurrence downloads ⚡
- 2y agorgbifrgbif 3.8.0 soft-deprecates occ_data(), adds download describe
- 2y agoggraphNative pipe usage rolled back
- 2y agoggraphLayout precision and edge geom fixes across the package
- 3y agoggraphBinned edge scales and compiled dendrogram layouts
- 5y agoggraphC++11 pinned to fix std::random_shuffle deprecation
- 5y agoggraphFaceting and edge geom bug fixes
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between ggraph and rgbif?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. ggraph and rgbif 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 ggraph better than rgbif?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. ggraph and rgbif 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 ggraph?
Top ggraph alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "ggraph alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/ggraph for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to rgbif?
Top rgbif alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rgbif alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rgbif for the full list with editorial commentary on each.