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epinowcast added Gaussian processes to its formula interface and made the sampler twice as fast
Comparison · Analytics
KLINK vs pedprobr
A side-by-side editorial comparison of KLINK and pedprobr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
KLINK vs pedprobr: at a glance
What is KLINK?
Forensic kinship testing with linked STR markers, now peer-reviewed and taking data from anywhere.
KLINK is a Shiny application and R package for kinship testing that accounts for linkage between STR markers, rather than treating all markers as independent. The built-in genetic map covers 50 common STR markers, pairs them dynamically after data loads, and lets the user set the maximum distance at which a pair counts as linked. Custom marker maps can now arrive as Excel files including KLINK's own download files, and a paper describing the tool was published in FSI:Genetics in 2026.
What is pedprobr?
pedprobr is the likelihood engine, and it keeps finding ways to compute what it previously could not.
pedprobr computes pedigree likelihoods for the ped suite. Version 1.1.0 updated its loop handling to match pedtools 2.11.0, including founder and repeated loop breakers, and improved the peeling algorithm with single-child shortcuts and lower memory use. Version 1.0.0 was the other expansion: special lumping lets markers with mutation models that are un-lumpable in the Kemeny-Snell sense be lumped anyway in certain cases, with alleleLimit as a fallback for the rest.
KLINK vs pedprobr: editorial side-by-side
KLINK
2.5ANALYTICS
Forensic kinship testing with linked STR markers, now peer-reviewed and taking data from anywhere.
◆ Current state
KLINK is a Shiny application and R package for kinship testing that accounts for linkage between STR markers, rather than treating all markers as independent. The built-in genetic map covers 50 common STR markers, pairs them dynamically after data loads, and lets the user set the maximum distance at which a pair counts as linked. Custom marker maps can now arrive as Excel files including KLINK's own download files, and a paper describing the tool was published in FSI:Genetics in 2026.
◆ Where it's heading
The direction is from fixed panel toward general instrument. Hard-coded linkage pairs gave way to dynamic pairing, the built-in map grew from 18 to 50 markers, the map itself was then moved out to the norSTR package, and the app now accepts custom maps in several file formats and decimal conventions. Method capability tracks the upstream pedsuite rather than KLINK itself: special lumping in pedprobr and pedmut is what allowed complex mutation models in common pedigrees, and the newest release pins pedtools 2.11.0 and pedprobr 1.1.0 for faster likelihoods and better handling of looped pedigrees. Much of the remaining work is unglamorous casework ergonomics, replacing stray Norwegian text in Excel output, controlling table heights, fixing karyogram colours.
◆ Prediction
With the map externalised and custom maps loading from multiple formats, the likeliest next step is broader marker-panel coverage through norSTR rather than changes in KLINK itself. Method gains should continue to arrive as pedprobr and pedmut version bumps.
pedprobr
0.0ANALYTICS
pedprobr is the likelihood engine, and it keeps finding ways to compute what it previously could not.
◆ Current state
pedprobr computes pedigree likelihoods for the ped suite. Version 1.1.0 updated its loop handling to match pedtools 2.11.0, including founder and repeated loop breakers, and improved the peeling algorithm with single-child shortcuts and lower memory use. Version 1.0.0 was the other expansion: special lumping lets markers with mutation models that are un-lumpable in the Kemeny-Snell sense be lumped anyway in certain cases, with alleleLimit as a fallback for the rest.
◆ Where it's heading
Every significant release here removes a class of computation that used to be infeasible, either by making a marker lumpable or by making a loop breakable. The rest is steady peeling-algorithm optimization, which has been reducing memory footprint release after release since 0.9.2. The newly added .diagnostics option suggests the peeling internals are now complex enough that the maintainer needs to inspect them.
◆ Prediction
Since special lumping is documented as covering only some cases so far, expect further lumping situations to be implemented as pedmut adds them.
Alternatives to KLINK and pedprobr
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 KLINK or pedprobr.
duckspatial
duckspatial rebuilt itself around a lazy DuckDB class, then spent four releases filling in the geometry surface
timbr
Three years dormant, timbr returns with dplyr verbs that finally respect tree structure
gps2gtfs
gps2gtfs spent a release making its docs stop describing functions it does not have.
ducksemantics
ducksemantics puts an ontology graph and ColBERT retrieval inside DuckDB, callable from R.
dvir
dvir keeps making disaster victim identification a single call instead of a workflow.
See all KLINK alternatives → · See all pedprobr alternatives →
Recent activity from KLINK and pedprobr
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 12d agoKLINKExcel marker maps, more robust map loading, and a published paper
- 1mo agopedprobrLoop handling updated for pedtools' new loop breakers
- 3mo agoKLINKIn-app help pages, a mutation-model setting, and clearer controls
- 1y agoKLINKComplex mutation models become usable via upstream special lumping
- 1y agopedprobrCRAN example rounding fix
- 1y agopedprobrSpecial lumping for previously un-lumpable mutation models
- 1y agopedprobrGenotype distributions gain sparse and table output
- 1y agoKLINKDownload fix for XML initials containing hyphens
- 1y agoKLINKUnlinked report picks the higher-PIC marker from each pair
- 2y agoKLINKMarkers pair dynamically against a 50-marker map, replacing hard-coded pairs ⚡
- 2y agopedprobrPeeling order bug fix
- 2y agopedprobrPartial genotype fix for singletons
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between KLINK and pedprobr?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. KLINK is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is KLINK better than pedprobr?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. KLINK is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to KLINK?
Top KLINK alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "KLINK alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/klink for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to pedprobr?
Top pedprobr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "pedprobr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/pedprobr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.