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ggstatsplot vs tmap

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

ggstatsplot vs tmap: at a glance

Featureggstatsplottmap
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesstatistical-plots, ggplot2, contingency-tables, hypothesis-testingthematic-mapping, spatial-data, ggplot-alternative, extensibility
Last editorial update1h ago2h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is ggstatsplot?

ggstatsplot reached 1.0 by adding tests, having outsourced its statistics years ago.

ggstatsplot produces ggplot2 graphics with statistical test results embedded in the subtitle and caption — comparisons, correlations, contingency tables, histograms. Since the 2019 refactoring that moved all statistical computation into the separate statsExpressions package, its own release notes have been dominated by upstream tracking: adapting to ggplot2, dplyr, purrr and easystats changes. The 1.0.0 release in April 2026 breaks that run with real additions to the contingency-table functions.

Read the full ggstatsplot trajectory →

What is tmap?

Two years after a from-scratch rewrite, tmap is filling in the layers v4 promised.

tmap draws thematic maps in R across static and interactive modes. The 4.0 rewrite replaced the layer syntax with explicit visual variables, scales, legends and charts, and opened the package to extensions; the 4.x line since has been steady capability fill-in. The 4.4 release adds tm_circles with fixed unit-based radii, a blend argument on every layer, and hitboxes so small objects stay clickable in view mode.

Read the full tmap trajectory →

ggstatsplot vs tmap: editorial side-by-side

G
ggstatsplot
ANALYTICS
0.0

ggstatsplot reached 1.0 by adding tests, having outsourced its statistics years ago.

◆ Current state

ggstatsplot produces ggplot2 graphics with statistical test results embedded in the subtitle and caption — comparisons, correlations, contingency tables, histograms. Since the 2019 refactoring that moved all statistical computation into the separate statsExpressions package, its own release notes have been dominated by upstream tracking: adapting to ggplot2, dplyr, purrr and easystats changes. The 1.0.0 release in April 2026 breaks that run with real additions to the contingency-table functions.

◆ Where it's heading

The architecture explains the cadence. With statistics living in statsExpressions, ggstatsplot's own releases are mostly the tax of sitting on top of a fast-moving plotting and tidyverse stack — five of the six most recent entries change nothing a user would notice. When substantive work does arrive it clusters in the plotting layer's coverage of test families, as in 1.0.0's one-sample goodness-of-fit support and pairwise contingency analyses. The maintainer is also visibly deliberate about scope, having removed the normality-curve overlay in 0.12.4 for being unrelated to the analysis in question.

◆ Prediction

Expect continued parity work across the plot family — features that exist in one function being extended to its siblings, as goodness-of-fit support moved from ggpiestats to ggbarstats — punctuated by maintenance releases tracking ggplot2 and easystats.

T
tmap
ANALYTICS
0.0

Two years after a from-scratch rewrite, tmap is filling in the layers v4 promised.

◆ Current state

tmap draws thematic maps in R across static and interactive modes. The 4.0 rewrite replaced the layer syntax with explicit visual variables, scales, legends and charts, and opened the package to extensions; the 4.x line since has been steady capability fill-in. The 4.4 release adds tm_circles with fixed unit-based radii, a blend argument on every layer, and hitboxes so small objects stay clickable in view mode.

◆ Where it's heading

The extension mechanism introduced in 4.0 is where the interesting work is migrating: PMTiles support arrived through a separate experimental tmap.sources package, mode cycling became configurable via tmap_mode_pool() so packages like tmap.mapgl can register themselves, and shiny dispatch methods were added specifically to let other modes integrate. The core package is increasingly a rendering contract that satellite packages plug into.

◆ Prediction

Expect more rendering backends to land as sibling packages rather than in tmap itself, with the core continuing to absorb the dispatch and mode-management plumbing they need.

Alternatives to ggstatsplot and tmap

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 ggstatsplot or tmap.

See all ggstatsplot alternatives → · See all tmap alternatives →

Recent activity from ggstatsplot and tmap

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

  1. 1mo agotmapDocumentation-only patch tidying man-page titles
  2. 1mo agotmaptm_circles, layer blending and clickable small objects
  3. 3mo agoggstatsplotPairwise contingency tests and one-sample goodness-of-fit
  4. 4mo agoggstatsplotInternal maintenance only
  5. 6mo agoggstatsplotAdapted to dplyr 1.2.0 and purrr 1.2.1
  6. 8mo agoggstatsplotContributor list updated in DESCRIPTION
  7. 10mo agoggstatsplotSecondary axis label parsing fixed in gghistostats
  8. 11mo agoggstatsplotAdapted to the latest ggplot2 release
  9. 1y agotmaptmap v4 rewritten from scratch with a new layer syntax
  10. 1y agotmapFinal 3.x release before the v4 rewrite

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between ggstatsplot and tmap?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. ggstatsplot and tmap 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 ggstatsplot better than tmap?

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

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

What are the best alternatives to tmap?

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