rainette
rainette rebuilt its Reinert clustering in 0.2.0, tuned it in 0.3.0, and has coasted since.
Comparison · Analytics
ggstats vs robma
A side-by-side editorial comparison of ggstats and robma — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
ggstats vs robma: at a glance
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.
What is robma?
RoBMA 4.0 tears out its own constructor surface and rebuilds on one class hierarchy
RoBMA fits robust Bayesian model-averaged meta-analyses that adjust for publication bias. The 3.x line grew by accretion: separate constructors for each model family (RoBMA.reg, NoBMA, BiBMA and their .reg variants), a spike-and-slab algorithm in 3.3.0 that made estimation fast enough to matter, then a steady stream of post-estimation tooling gated on that algorithm — heterogeneity summaries, residuals, funnel plots, z-curve conversion, predict, extract, pooled and adjusted effects. Version 4.0.0 in May 2026 collapses all of it into a unified brma class hierarchy.
ggstats vs robma: editorial side-by-side
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.
robma
0.0ANALYTICS
RoBMA 4.0 tears out its own constructor surface and rebuilds on one class hierarchy
◆ Current state
RoBMA fits robust Bayesian model-averaged meta-analyses that adjust for publication bias. The 3.x line grew by accretion: separate constructors for each model family (RoBMA.reg, NoBMA, BiBMA and their .reg variants), a spike-and-slab algorithm in 3.3.0 that made estimation fast enough to matter, then a steady stream of post-estimation tooling gated on that algorithm — heterogeneity summaries, residuals, funnel plots, z-curve conversion, predict, extract, pooled and adjusted effects. Version 4.0.0 in May 2026 collapses all of it into a unified brma class hierarchy.
◆ Where it's heading
The 3.x series solved the modeling problem and left an interface problem behind: a caller had to know which of six constructors matched their data type, and argument names differed across them. 4.0.0 resolves that by making the model family a set of arguments rather than a function name, and by standardizing input naming on metafor-style conventions. It shipped one day after BayesTools 0.3.0, the author's own upstream infrastructure package, whose new standardization and prior-transformation machinery this rewrite depends on.
◆ Prediction
A rewrite this wide usually needs a follow-up, so expect 4.0.x patches addressing migration gaps as users hit the removed constructors and renamed arguments.
Alternatives to ggstats and robma
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 ggstats or robma.
questionr
questionr's survey helpers are finished; recent releases only keep pace with R-devel.
washdata
washdata is a fixed survey dataset; eight years of releases have changed only its packaging.
singlercapture
singleRcapture reached 1.0.0 with no release notes at all — the arc has to be read backwards.
crossmap
crossmap's roadmap is set by purrr and furrr — it deprecates what upstream deprecates.
fracture
fracture solved decimal-to-fraction conversion years ago and now only answers to CRAN.
See all ggstats alternatives → · See all robma alternatives →
Recent activity from ggstats and robma
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 3mo agorobmaUnifies six model constructors into one brma class hierarchy ⚡
- 5mo agoggstatsgglikert_side() and total columns for Likert plots
- 7mo agoggstatsLikert functions accept survey objects
- 8mo agorobmaRoBMA 3.6.1
- 11mo agoggstatsTable output for ggcoef_compare(); x-axis limits harmonised
- 11mo agorobmaRoBMA 3.6.0
- 1y agorobmaRoBMA 3.5.1
- 1y agoggstatsggstats 0.10.0
- 1y agorobmaRoBMA 3.5.0
- 1y agoggstatsCoefficient plots unified around ggcoef_model() with grouping
- 1y agorobmaRoBMA 3.4.0
- 1y agoggstatsDiverging and Likert geoms redesigned; connector geoms added
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between ggstats and robma?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. ggstats and robma 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 ggstats better than robma?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. ggstats and robma 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 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.
What are the best alternatives to robma?
Top robma alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "robma alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/robma for the full list with editorial commentary on each.