rnaturalearth
rnaturalearth finished its sp exit and is now optimising how the data actually arrives.
Comparison · Analytics
osmdata vs rgbif
A side-by-side editorial comparison of osmdata and rgbif — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
osmdata vs rgbif: at a glance
What is osmdata?
osmdata keeps tightening its Overpass query surface, breaking small things to get types right.
The last two releases are the substantive ones. 0.4.0 lets `getbb()` resolve OSM relations via Wikidata ids, adds `filter_osm_user()` to Overpass query objects, and corrects metadata typing so timestamps are POSIXct rather than locale-dependent strings. 0.3.0 dropped the re-exported magrittr pipe, raised the R floor to 4.1 for the base pipe, and fixed polygon output to follow the OGC simple-features model instead of treating every ring as an independent polygon. Earlier entries are CRAN repairs and query-construction fixes.
What is rgbif?
rgbif is steadily pushing users off paged searching and onto real downloads.
rgbif ships several times a year and the recent releases cluster around downloads. 3.8.1 added `occ_download_sql()` for SQL-based occurrence downloads; 3.8.2 added DOI-to-download-key resolution and institutionKey downloads; 3.8.3 relayed GBIF's new throttling of bulk paging through `occ_search()` with a message pointing users at `occ_download()`; 3.8.5 added a family of `occ_download_stats_*()` functions plus multiple-taxonomy and verbatim-extension downloads. Alongside that, `name_backbone()` moved to GBIF API v2, and 3.8.0 soft-deprecated `occ_data()`.
osmdata vs rgbif: editorial side-by-side
osmdata
0.0ANALYTICS
osmdata keeps tightening its Overpass query surface, breaking small things to get types right.
◆ Current state
The last two releases are the substantive ones. 0.4.0 lets `getbb()` resolve OSM relations via Wikidata ids, adds `filter_osm_user()` to Overpass query objects, and corrects metadata typing so timestamps are POSIXct rather than locale-dependent strings. 0.3.0 dropped the re-exported magrittr pipe, raised the R floor to 4.1 for the base pipe, and fixed polygon output to follow the OGC simple-features model instead of treating every ring as an independent polygon. Earlier entries are CRAN repairs and query-construction fixes.
◆ Where it's heading
The pattern is deliberate correctness work: each release accepts a small breaking change to make returned objects match the standard they claim to follow, whether that is OGC polygon structure, POSIXct timestamps, or UTF-8 metadata columns. Alongside it, the Overpass query builder keeps gaining filters — by area, by out type, by osm_types, now by user and via Wikidata. The package is maturing rather than expanding.
◆ Prediction
More Overpass filter and query-object composition helpers are the likeliest next additions, since that is where both recent releases put their new surface.
rgbif
0.0ANALYTICS
rgbif is steadily pushing users off paged searching and onto real downloads.
◆ Current state
rgbif ships several times a year and the recent releases cluster around downloads. 3.8.1 added `occ_download_sql()` for SQL-based occurrence downloads; 3.8.2 added DOI-to-download-key resolution and institutionKey downloads; 3.8.3 relayed GBIF's new throttling of bulk paging through `occ_search()` with a message pointing users at `occ_download()`; 3.8.5 added a family of `occ_download_stats_*()` functions plus multiple-taxonomy and verbatim-extension downloads. Alongside that, `name_backbone()` moved to GBIF API v2, and 3.8.0 soft-deprecated `occ_data()`.
◆ Where it's heading
Two things are happening at once. GBIF is discouraging bulk retrieval through the search API, and rgbif is building out the download path fast enough to absorb the traffic — SQL queries, DOI round-tripping, format description, and now statistics about the downloads themselves. Metadata coverage has expanded in parallel, with a dozen `dataset_*()` functions in 3.7.9 and GRSciColl institution search in 3.8.3. The deprecations are consistent: `occ_data()`, `occ_facet()`, `occ_count(type=)` all retired in favour of narrower replacements.
◆ Prediction
The download surface is where the next additions will land — likely more SQL-download tooling and further statistics endpoints, following 3.8.1 and 3.8.5.
Alternatives to osmdata and rgbif
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 osmdata or rgbif.
writexl
writexl spent nine years refusing to do formatting, then shipped all of it in 2.0.0.
rstanarm
rstanarm is community-maintained now, tracking Stan and lme4 rather than adding models.
taxa
taxa started a ground-up rewrite in 2021 and has published almost nothing since.
rotl
rotl's whole release history is keeping name matching honest against a moving taxonomy.
taxize
taxize spends its releases absorbing other people's API changes, one dead source at a time.
See all osmdata alternatives → · See all rgbif alternatives →
Recent activity from osmdata and rgbif
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agoosmdataosmdata 0.4.0
- 4mo agorgbifrgbif 3.8.5 adds occurrence download statistics functions
- 8mo agorgbifrgbif 3.8.4 moves name matching to GBIF API v2
- 11mo agorgbifrgbif 3.8.3 adds GRSciColl search, relays GBIF paging throttle
- 11mo agoosmdataosmdata 0.3.0
- 1y agorgbifrgbif 3.8.2 resolves download DOIs to keys
- 1y agorgbifrgbif 3.8.1 adds SQL-based occurrence downloads ⚡
- 2y agorgbifrgbif 3.8.0 soft-deprecates occ_data(), adds download describe
- 2y agoosmdataosmdata 0.2.5 resubmitted after CRAN removal
- 3y agoosmdataosmdata 0.2.3 fixes test broken by sp deprecation
- 3y agoosmdataosmdata 0.2.2 adds out:csv queries and centre coordinates
- 3y agoosmdataosmdata 0.2.1 deprecates nodes_only, fixes memory leaks
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between osmdata and rgbif?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. osmdata and rgbif 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 osmdata better than rgbif?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. osmdata and rgbif 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 osmdata?
Top osmdata alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "osmdata alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/osmdata for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to rgbif?
Top rgbif alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rgbif alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rgbif for the full list with editorial commentary on each.