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Comparison · Analytics

gtsummary vs mapSpain

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

Shared themes:r-package

gtsummary vs mapSpain: at a glance

FeaturegtsummarymapSpain
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesclinical-tables, analysis-results-data, regression-summaries, reproducible-reportingspain, administrative-boundaries, geospatial, httr2
Last editorial update1h ago1h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is gtsummary?

gtsummary is quietly rebuilding itself around analysis results data, one table verb at a time.

gtsummary builds publication-ready summary, regression and survival tables for clinical and epidemiological work. Across this window it has grown in two directions at once: table composition primitives — splitting tables by rows and columns, stacking with labeled IDs, nested strata stacks, flexible merge columns — and a steadily deepening ARD layer, where tbl_ard_* functions, gather_ard() and the hierarchical table family expose the underlying analysis results data as a first-class object.

Read the full gtsummary trajectory →

What is mapSpain?

mapSpain's 1.0.0 broke every user cache to get the package onto modern foundations.

mapSpain provides administrative boundaries, tile providers and geographic dictionaries for Spain, pulling from GISCO, SIANE, INE and IGN sources. The 1.0.0 release in January 2026 rebuilt it: requests moved to httr2, the cache reorganized into topic-based subfolders under tools::R_user_dir() instead of rappdirs, R 4.1 became the floor, and every function now returns tidy objects. Existing caches are explicitly incompatible and must be rebuilt.

Read the full mapSpain trajectory →

gtsummary vs mapSpain: editorial side-by-side

G
gtsummary
ANALYTICS
0.0

gtsummary is quietly rebuilding itself around analysis results data, one table verb at a time.

◆ Current state

gtsummary builds publication-ready summary, regression and survival tables for clinical and epidemiological work. Across this window it has grown in two directions at once: table composition primitives — splitting tables by rows and columns, stacking with labeled IDs, nested strata stacks, flexible merge columns — and a steadily deepening ARD layer, where tbl_ard_* functions, gather_ard() and the hierarchical table family expose the underlying analysis results data as a first-class object.

◆ Where it's heading

The ARD work is the through-line. Table IDs exist so gather_ard() can return a named list; hierarchical tables gained per-level sorting and targeted filtering; ARD inputs are pre-processed so sorting applies to non-standard shapes. The package is becoming a structured-results engine that happens to render tables, rather than a renderer alone. Alongside that, 2.2.0 restored data pre-processing that 2.0 had removed after the reduced functionality hurt users — a maintainer willing to reverse a major-version decision.

◆ Prediction

Expect the hierarchical and ARD functions, introduced as a preview without a full deprecation cycle, to keep stabilizing toward a settled API rather than new table types appearing.

M
mapSpain
ANALYTICS
0.0

mapSpain's 1.0.0 broke every user cache to get the package onto modern foundations.

◆ Current state

mapSpain provides administrative boundaries, tile providers and geographic dictionaries for Spain, pulling from GISCO, SIANE, INE and IGN sources. The 1.0.0 release in January 2026 rebuilt it: requests moved to httr2, the cache reorganized into topic-based subfolders under tools::R_user_dir() instead of rappdirs, R 4.1 became the floor, and every function now returns tidy objects. Existing caches are explicitly incompatible and must be rebuilt.

◆ Where it's heading

The package has finished its modernization and moved into consolidation. 1.1.0 added a configurable query timeout and pinned httr2 for compatibility with giscoR, the sibling package it shares plumbing with; 1.2.0 was a declared internal-only refactor with the public API held fixed and the work described as AI-assisted with human review. The data-source expansion that characterized the 0.9.x and 0.10.x line — comarcas by type, simplified INE geometries, SIANE vintages — has paused while the foundations settle.

◆ Prediction

Expect a return to source coverage now that the refactor is done: new SIANE or INE vintages and additional boundary types are the pattern this package has repeated. The entries show no further architectural work queued.

Alternatives to gtsummary and mapSpain

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 gtsummary or mapSpain.

See all gtsummary alternatives → · See all mapSpain alternatives →

Recent activity from gtsummary and mapSpain

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

  1. 1mo agomapSpainInternal helper refactor with the public API held fixed
  2. 2mo agogtsummaryTheme elements no longer evaluated by default
  3. 4mo agomapSpainQuery timeout becomes configurable
  4. 7mo agomapSpain1.0.0 rebuilds on httr2 and invalidates every cache
  5. 8mo agogtsummaryARD strata functions and finer theme control
  6. 11mo agogtsummaryPer-level hierarchical sorting and labeled stacking
  7. 1y agogtsummaryTable splitting, ID labeling, and add_difference_row
  8. 1y agogtsummaryData pre-processing restored after the 2.0 removal
  9. 1y agogtsummarytbl_merge gains explicit merge columns
  10. 1y agomapSpainComarcas and simplified INE geometries added
  11. 1y agomapSpainComarca types split across four official sources
  12. 1y agomapSpainAdapted to the SIANE 2024 databases

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between gtsummary and mapSpain?

Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. gtsummary and mapSpain 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 gtsummary better than mapSpain?

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

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

What are the best alternatives to mapSpain?

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