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Comparison · Analytics

gtsummary vs tidyBdE

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

gtsummary vs tidyBdE: at a glance

FeaturegtsummarytidyBdE
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesclinical-tables, analysis-results-data, regression-summaries, reproducible-reportingeconomic-data, spain, api-access, ggplot2-scales
Last editorial update1h ago2h 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 tidyBdE?

A Banco de España CSV scraper just learned to query the bank's live statistics API.

tidyBdE pulls Banco de España macroeconomic series into tidy R data frames and ships ggplot2 scales in the bank's house colors. Its whole history ran on bulk CSV downloads; 0.7.0 adds bde_series_api_latest() and bde_series_api_load() to query the bank's Statistics web service directly, with wide and long output, metadata extraction and time-range validation. The same release reached 100% line coverage.

Read the full tidyBdE trajectory →

gtsummary vs tidyBdE: 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.

T
tidyBdE
ANALYTICS
0.0

A Banco de España CSV scraper just learned to query the bank's live statistics API.

◆ Current state

tidyBdE pulls Banco de España macroeconomic series into tidy R data frames and ships ggplot2 scales in the bank's house colors. Its whole history ran on bulk CSV downloads; 0.7.0 adds bde_series_api_latest() and bde_series_api_load() to query the bank's Statistics web service directly, with wide and long output, metadata extraction and time-range validation. The same release reached 100% line coverage.

◆ Where it's heading

Most releases in this feed are the package chasing Banco de España's own churn — series identifiers change upstream and the indicator wrappers get repointed. The API functions break that pattern by removing the bulk-file dependency for the first time, and the new csv_manual vignette reads like documentation of the legacy path rather than the preferred one. The maintainer is applying the same cli, roxygen2 and AI-assisted refactor pass seen across their other Spanish open-data packages.

◆ Prediction

Expect the indicator wrappers to migrate onto the API functions, which would end the recurring identifier-tracking releases; the bde_ind_db documentation already carries the API series code alongside the CSV identifiers.

Alternatives to gtsummary and tidyBdE

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 tidyBdE.

See all gtsummary alternatives → · See all tidyBdE alternatives →

Recent activity from gtsummary and tidyBdE

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

  1. 1mo agotidyBdELive Statistics API access replaces bulk CSV as the entry point
  2. 2mo agogtsummaryTheme elements no longer evaluated by default
  3. 2mo agotidyBdECSV encoding now detected automatically
  4. 4mo agotidyBdEVignettes migrate to Quarto; CPI series repointed
  5. 7mo agotidyBdER 4.1 minimum and a documentation pass
  6. 8mo agogtsummaryARD strata functions and finer theme control
  7. 11mo agogtsummaryPer-level hierarchical sorting and labeled stacking
  8. 1y agogtsummaryTable splitting, ID labeling, and add_difference_row
  9. 1y agotidyBdEIndicators move onto a single series database
  10. 1y agogtsummaryData pre-processing restored after the 2.0 removal
  11. 1y agogtsummarytbl_merge gains explicit merge columns
  12. 1y agotidyBdEQuarterly GDP indicator repointed after upstream change

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between gtsummary and tidyBdE?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. gtsummary and tidyBdE 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 tidyBdE?

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

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