← Back to home
Comparison · Infra & APIs

statsExpressions vs tidyplots

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

Shared themes:statistics

statsExpressions vs tidyplots: at a glance

FeaturestatsExpressionstidyplots
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesstatistics, easystats, ggstatsplot, backenddata-visualization, r-package, ggplot2, scientific-publishing
Last editorial update2h ago1h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is statsExpressions?

A statistics backend whose release history is mostly other people's weather

statsExpressions produces the tidy dataframes and plotmath expressions that ggstatsplot prints onto plots, and that position defines its changelog. Six of its ten most recent versions exist to absorb API changes in easystats, dplyr or purrr. Version 2.0.0 is the exception, cut to accompany ggstatsplot's own 1.0.0 and carrying pairwise Fisher's exact post hocs for contingency tables.

Read the full statsExpressions trajectory →

What is tidyplots?

tidyplots keeps rebuilding its own foundations rather than layering around them.

tidyplots wraps ggplot2 in a pipe-driven API aimed at publication-ready scientific figures, trading grammar-of-graphics flexibility for a shorter path to a finished plot. It is at 0.4.0 after two years of frequent releases, and almost every one carries a breaking change — the most recent moved multi-panel layout off patchwork and onto ggplot2's own faceting. Statistical annotation, colour schemes and size control have each been reworked at least once.

Read the full tidyplots trajectory →

statsExpressions vs tidyplots: editorial side-by-side

S
statsExpressions
INFRA · APIS
0.0

A statistics backend whose release history is mostly other people's weather

◆ Current state

statsExpressions produces the tidy dataframes and plotmath expressions that ggstatsplot prints onto plots, and that position defines its changelog. Six of its ten most recent versions exist to absorb API changes in easystats, dplyr or purrr. Version 2.0.0 is the exception, cut to accompany ggstatsplot's own 1.0.0 and carrying pairwise Fisher's exact post hocs for contingency tables.

◆ Where it's heading

This is a component settling into place beneath a larger package rather than a product with its own roadmap. New statistical content arrives rarely and narrowly — an exact-p toggle, one post-hoc function — while the recurring work is keeping expressions correct as the easystats stack shifts underneath. The one bug class it keeps returning to is rendering: p-values of exactly zero, decimal commas that plotmath parses as list separators.

◆ Prediction

Coupled this tightly, the next release is most likely another compatibility pass timed to an easystats or ggstatsplot version rather than new tests. Nothing in these entries signals an independent feature direction.

T
tidyplots
INFRA · APIS
0.0

tidyplots keeps rebuilding its own foundations rather than layering around them.

◆ Current state

tidyplots wraps ggplot2 in a pipe-driven API aimed at publication-ready scientific figures, trading grammar-of-graphics flexibility for a shorter path to a finished plot. It is at 0.4.0 after two years of frequent releases, and almost every one carries a breaking change — the most recent moved multi-panel layout off patchwork and onto ggplot2's own faceting. Statistical annotation, colour schemes and size control have each been reworked at least once.

◆ Where it's heading

The package is converging on ggplot2 rather than abstracting away from it: split_plot() now uses facet_wrap and facet_grid, as_tidyplot() was hard-deprecated on the grounds that converting a ggplot was never a good idea, and releases are timed against upstream ggplot2 versions. The other constant is the statistics surface, which has grown from basic error bars to paired and selected comparisons. Breaking changes are announced plainly and frequently, consistent with a package using 0.x to fix its shape before committing.

◆ Prediction

The patchwork removal is described as something that will eventually break dependent code, so the near-term work is likely completing that migration and settling the split_plot() parameters introduced alongside it. A 1.0 would signal the breaking-change cadence is ending, and nothing here indicates that yet.

Alternatives to statsExpressions and tidyplots

Other Infra & APIs 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 statsExpressions or tidyplots.

See all statsExpressions alternatives → · See all tidyplots alternatives →

Recent activity from statsExpressions and tidyplots

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

  1. 3mo agostatsExpressionsPairwise Fisher's post hocs for contingency tables
  2. 4mo agostatsExpressionsInternal maintenance only, no user-facing changes
  3. 6mo agostatsExpressionsAdapts to dplyr 1.2.0 and purrr 1.2.1
  4. 6mo agostatsExpressionsAdapts to changes in the easystats packages
  5. 7mo agotidyplotstidyplots 0.4.0
  6. 1y agostatsExpressionsFixes p-value rendering when p is exactly zero
  7. 1y agotidyplotstidyplots 0.3.1
  8. 1y agostatsExpressionscentrality_description() follows the new easystats API
  9. 1y agotidyplotstidyplots 0.2.2
  10. 1y agotidyplotstidyplots 0.2.1
  11. 1y agotidyplotstidyplots 0.2.0
  12. 1y agotidyplotstidyplots 0.1.2

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between statsExpressions and tidyplots?

Both compete on the same themes — statistics — within Infra & APIs. statsExpressions and tidyplots 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 statsExpressions better than tidyplots?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. statsExpressions and tidyplots 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 Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to statsExpressions?

Top statsExpressions alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "statsExpressions alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/statsexpressions for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to tidyplots?

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