tidytext
Finished, widely taught, and shipping roxygen fixes.
Comparison · Analytics
mlr3measures vs scales
A side-by-side editorial comparison of mlr3measures and scales — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
mlr3measures vs scales: at a glance
What is mlr3measures?
mlr3measures is systematically retrofitting sample weights across every metric
mlr3measures is the metric library behind mlr3. Recent releases follow two threads: adding measures — linex, pinball, Mu AUC, gmean, gpr, mcc — and retrofitting sample_weights support across the existing ones, reaching AUC and the confusion-matrix family in 1.3.0. Along the way 1.1.0 deprecated four regression measures and corrected the bias definitions.
What is scales?
scales keeps widening what ggplot2 can put on an axis.
scales supplies the breaks, labels and transformations behind ggplot2's axes and legends. Unlike much of the tidyverse infrastructure around it, it still ships genuine feature work each release: native timespan handling in 1.3.0, then custom range-training classes and label_glue() in 1.4.0.
mlr3measures vs scales: editorial side-by-side
mlr3measures
0.0ANALYTICS
mlr3measures is systematically retrofitting sample weights across every metric
◆ Current state
mlr3measures is the metric library behind mlr3. Recent releases follow two threads: adding measures — linex, pinball, Mu AUC, gmean, gpr, mcc — and retrofitting sample_weights support across the existing ones, reaching AUC and the confusion-matrix family in 1.3.0. Along the way 1.1.0 deprecated four regression measures and corrected the bias definitions.
◆ Where it's heading
The library is maturing rather than growing: weighted evaluation and observation-wise loss functions are being brought to metrics that already existed, which is what downstream weighted-resampling and per-observation analysis need. The deprecations suggest the maintainers are willing to remove measures they consider ill-defined rather than keep them for compatibility.
◆ Prediction
Expect sample_weights and observation-wise variants to reach the remaining measures that lack them.
scales
0.0ANALYTICS
scales keeps widening what ggplot2 can put on an axis.
◆ Current state
scales supplies the breaks, labels and transformations behind ggplot2's axes and legends. Unlike much of the tidyverse infrastructure around it, it still ships genuine feature work each release: native timespan handling in 1.3.0, then custom range-training classes and label_glue() in 1.4.0.
◆ Where it's heading
The arc runs toward extensibility and type coverage. First came built-in support for awkward types like difftime and hms; 1.4.0 inverts that by letting any third-party class participate in range training simply by implementing range() or levels(). Labelling is getting more expressive rather than merely more numerous.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued type-support and labelling work, with extension points that let downstream packages plug in their own classes instead of scales enumerating every one.
Alternatives to mlr3measures and scales
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 mlr3measures or scales.
textrecipes
Text features finally stay sparse all the way to the model.
probably
The package that made calibration a step instead of an afterthought.
workflowsets
workflowsets keeps widening what counts as a model worth comparing.
workflows
The tidymodels pipeline grew a third stage, and it happens after the model runs.
vetiver
Posit's MLOps package went quiet for two years, then came back to keep up with recipes.
See all mlr3measures alternatives → · See all scales alternatives →
Recent activity from mlr3measures and scales
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 3mo agomlr3measuresWeighted AUC and weighted confusion-matrix measures
- 8mo agomlr3measuresObservation-wise loss for bbrier and logloss
- 11mo agomlr3measuresrse, rsq, rrse and rae deprecated; bias measures corrected
- 1y agoscalesscales 1.4.0 opens range training to custom classes
- 1y agomlr3measureslinex, pinball and Mu AUC measures added
- 2y agomlr3measuresgmean, gpr and multiclass MCC added
- 2y agoscalesscales 1.3.0 makes timespans first-class on axes
- 3y agoscalesscales 1.2.1 re-documents to fix .Rd HTML issues
- 4y agomlr3measuresObservation-wise loss functions introduced
- 4y agoscalesscales 1.2.0 fixes currency sign order and adds scale_cut
- 6y agoscalesscales 1.1.1 fixes palette inversion and adds oob_keep()
- 6y agoscalesscales 1.1.0 reorganises breaks and labels into a naming scheme
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between mlr3measures and scales?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. mlr3measures and scales 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 mlr3measures better than scales?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. mlr3measures and scales 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 mlr3measures?
Top mlr3measures alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "mlr3measures alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/mlr3measures for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to scales?
Top scales alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "scales alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/scales-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.