R (programming language) icon

R (programming language)

R is a free, open-source programming language and software environment for statistical analysis, data visualization, and scientific computing. It is widely used by statisticians, data miners, data analysts, and data scientists for developing statistical software and data analysis.

What is R (programming language)?

R is an open-source programming language and free software environment for statistical computing, bioinformatics, graphics, data science, and general-purpose programming. The R language provides a wide variety of statistical analysis techniques and graphical capabilities which make it a popular choice for data analysis and visualization.

Some key features of R include:

  • Open-source software under the GNU GPL, with thousands of contributed packages/libraries for specialized analysis accessible from CRAN repositories
  • A large, active development community constantly adding new capabilities and packages
  • Powerful data visualization capabilities, both static and interactive graphs, through base R and many visualization packages
  • Flexibility to program customized data analysis workflows
  • Interface to other languages like C, C++, Python, and SQL databases
  • Run on all common operating systems - Windows, Mac, and Linux

R supports techniques like linear and nonlinear modelling, time series analysis, classification, clustering, statistical tests, survival analysis, text mining, network analysis and is highly extensible with over 16,000 packages covering practically any data analysis task. This breadth makes R a leading choice for researchers, data scientists, and analysts across domains like finance, genomics, academia, and the industry.

With a large active community and plenty of learning resources, R allows users to leverage and even contribute new data science techniques efficiently. The main limitation is the steep learning curve for non-programmers. However commercial distributions like RStudio help new users get started with R without getting overwhelmed.

The Best R (programming language) Alternatives

Top Apps like R (programming language)

Python, Minitab, Mathematica, GraphPad Prism, MATLAB, Maple, Scilab, STATISTICA, Stata, Alteryx, GNU Octave, KNIME, NumeRe, Deducer, RKWard, Ascend, jamovi, PSPP, OpenAxiom, Mirai Math, ANKHOR FlowSheet, Montecarlito, jasymca, SOFA Statistics, fxSolver, SymPy, Rattle, LIMDEP, Julia, Easy Data Transform, The R Commander, Number Analytics, EasyMorph, Wizard Pro, gretl, Chemoface, Mplus, Develve, Magma, AdvancedMiner, R AnalyticFlow, Sigma Magic, GMDH Shell, Reshape.XL, Accord.NET Framework, FriCAS, ggraptR, Six Sigma Calculator, Dakota, Cadabra, ScicosLab, Revolution R, SAFE TOOLBOXES, R-Fiddle, Gaio, Easy Chi-Square Calculator, NppToR, MathJournal, nerdamer, grapheme, Q Research Software, Reinteract, Statwing, datamash, DataCracker, Doronix Math Toolbox, QIWare, WinBUGS, StatsDirect, Terrene, Variables, SymbolicC++, Gaio Analytics Platform are some alternatives to R (programming language).

Python

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Minitab

Minitab is a comprehensive software package used for statistical analysis and quality improvement applications. It has a wide range of analytical capabilities including basic statistics, regression analysis, design of experiments, statistical process control charts, reliability analysis, and more.Some key features and benefits of Minitab:User-friendly spreadsheet-style interface for entering...

Mathematica

Mathematica is a computational software program developed by Wolfram Research. It is used for symbolic and numerical mathematics, data visualization, image processing, and a wide range of technical computing applications.Some key features of Mathematica include:A symbolic algebra engine that can manipulate mathematical expressions, solve equations, simplify expressions, compute...

GraphPad Prism

GraphPad Prism is a proprietary scientific 2D graphing and statistics software designed specifically for the needs of biomedical and scientific researchers. It provides an intuitive and user-friendly interface for analyzing, graphing, and presenting scientific data as high-quality and publication-ready figures.Key features of GraphPad Prism include:A wide range of...

MATLAB

MATLAB (matrix laboratory) is a multi-paradigm numerical computing environment and proprietary programming language developed by MathWorks. MATLAB allows matrix manipulations, plotting of functions and data, implementation of algorithms, creation of user interfaces, and interfacing with programs written in other languages.Some key features of MATLAB include:Matrix and array-oriented language...

Maple

Maple is a proprietary computer algebra system or CAS designed for mathematical computation and modeling. It was first developed in 1980 by the Symbolic Computation Group at the University of Waterloo in Canada.Some of the key capabilities Maple offers include:Algebraic manipulation - simplify expressions, solve equations, factor polynomials, compute...

Scilab

Scilab is an open source, cross-platform numerical computational package and a high level, numerically oriented programming language. It provides an interpreted programming language, linear algebra operations, numerical optimization, signal processing features, and the ability to plot functions and data.Originally created in 1990 by researchers from INRIA and ENPC in France...

STATISTICA

STATISTICA is a powerful and comprehensive data analysis software suite that has been developed over 30+ years by StatSoft. It provides analytics capabilities for a wide range of industries and applications.Key features of STATISTICA include:Advanced data visualization with interactive dashboards, graphs and chartsPredictive analytics and data mining algorithms like...

Stata

Stata is statistical software that is widely used by researchers in economics, political science, biomedicine, sociology, and other fields that require advanced statistical analysis and data visualization capabilities. It was first launched in 1985 by StataCorp and has since become one of the most popular statistical packages in academic research.Some...

Alteryx

Alteryx is a data preparation and analytics software platform designed to make advanced data analytics accessible to any data worker. It provides an end-to-end platform to ingest, prepare, blend, analyze, and visualize data to gain deeper insights faster.Some key capabilities and benefits of Alteryx include:Intuitive drag-and-drop interface to...

GNU Octave

GNU Octave is an open-source mathematical programming language and environment that is compatible with MATLAB. It allows users to perform numerical computations, data manipulation and visualization, and other mathematical tasks. Some key features of GNU Octave include:An extensive library of mathematical functions for linear algebra, differential equations, optimization, statistics...

KNIME

KNIME is an open-source software platform used for advanced data analytics, reporting, and integration. It provides a user-friendly graphical workflow editor that allows users to create data pipelines by connecting different processing nodes. KNIME aims to speed up the process of obtaining insights from data.Some key features and capabilities...

NumeRe

NumeRe is an open-source platform for numerical computing, data analysis, and scientific visualization. It provides a MATLAB-like environment and programming language focused on matrix operations, linear algebra routines, statistical analysis, and plotting. Some key features of NumeRe include:Fast vector/matrix math operations through integration of BLAS and LAPACK librariesA...

Deducer

Deducer is a user-friendly open-source data analysis software aimed at beginners looking to learn statistics and data analysis using R without having to code. It was designed by academic researchers to be a free easy-to-use alternative to proprietary statistical software packages.Deducer provides a graphical user interface to R that...

RKWard

RKWard is a free and open-source integrated development environment for the R statistical programming language. It provides a graphical user interface that allows users to work with R without needing to manually type code.Some key features of RKWard include:Code editor with syntax highlighting, auto-completion and other productivity toolsData...

Ascend

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Jamovi

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PSPP

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OpenAxiom

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Mirai Math

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ANKHOR FlowSheet

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Montecarlito

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Jasymca

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SOFA Statistics

SOFA Statistics is a user-friendly, open-source statistics, analysis, and reporting tool that runs as a desktop application on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It provides an extensive range of statistical methods and visualization tools for exploratory data analysis, data cleaning, model fitting, results reporting, and dashboard creation.Some key features of...

FxSolver

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SymPy

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Rattle

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LIMDEP

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Julia

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Easy Data Transform

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The R Commander

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Number Analytics

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EasyMorph

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Wizard Pro

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Gretl

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Chemoface

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Mplus

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Develve

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Magma

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AdvancedMiner

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R AnalyticFlow

R AnalyticFlow is an open-source data analysis platform built specifically for the R programming language. It allows data scientists and analysts to create reusable analysis flows that connect various data sources, R scripts, and visualization code together into an end-to-end pipeline.Some key features of R AnalyticFlow include:Visual workflow...

Sigma Magic

Sigma Magic is a user-friendly photo editing application designed specifically for portrait touch-ups and enhancements. Using advanced AI technology, Sigma Magic can automatically detect faces in photos and apply customizable one-click fixes to improve various facial attributes.Some of the standout features of Sigma Magic include:Blemish Remover - Instantly...

GMDH Shell

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Reshape.XL

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Accord.NET Framework

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FriCAS

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GgraptR

ggraptR is an R package that builds on ggplot2 to create specialized graphs for network analysis, geospatial data, and text analysis. It provides a grammar of graphics interface, making complex multivariate data visualization more accessible. Key features include:Network visualization - plot network graphs and trees with automatic layouts like...

Six Sigma Calculator

The Six Sigma Calculator is a free online tool designed to help quality professionals, students, and others perform common statistical calculations used in Six Sigma and quality improvement projects. With an easy-to-use interface, it includes the following key features and functions:Process Capability Analysis - Calculate Cp, Cpk, Pp, Ppk...

Dakota

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Cadabra

Cadabra is an open-source computer algebra system designed specifically for advanced theoretical physics computations involving tensor polynomial simplifications. It has a modern C++ codebase focused on flexibility, extensibility and understandability.Some key features of Cadabra include:Symbolic tensor manipulation, with support for abstract and component indicesComputation and simplification of tensor...

ScicosLab

ScicosLab is an open-source software suite for numerical computation that specializes in the modeling and simulation of dynamical systems. It features a user-friendly graphical interface based on block diagrams, allowing users to easily construct models by dragging and dropping blocks representing system components.Some of the key capabilities and features...

Revolution R

Revolution Analytics' Revolution R is a software environment and suite of tools designed to provide an enhanced user experience for the R programming language. Some key features of Revolution R include:Integrated Development Environment (IDE) - Provides an interface for authoring, debugging, and executing R code, with features like syntax...

SAFE TOOLBOXES

Safe Toolboxes is an open-source software project that aims to provide users with a safe way to run untrusted or unverified applications without compromising the security of their device or data. It utilizes sandboxing and containerization techniques to isolate untrusted code and prevent it from making changes to sensitive parts...

R-Fiddle

R-Fiddle is an online integrated development environment (IDE) for the R programming language. It allows users to write, execute, and share R code from any web browser without having to install or configure any software locally.Some key features of R-Fiddle include:In-browser R console - Write and run R...

Gaio

Gaio is an open-source monitoring and observability platform optimized for cloud-native infrastructure and applications. It provides comprehensive visibility into systems, services, and applications deployed in public, private, or hybrid cloud environments.Some key capabilities and benefits of Gaio include:Metrics - Ingest, process, store and visualize metrics from hosts, containers...

Easy Chi-Square Calculator

Easy Chi-Square Calculator is a user-friendly web application designed for easily and rapidly carrying out chi-square tests. It eliminates the need for manual chi-square calculations or looking up critical values in statistical tables. The tool allows entry of a contingency table by typing or pasting observed and expected frequency counts...

NppToR

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MathJournal

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Nerdamer

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Grapheme

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Q Research Software

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Reinteract

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Statwing

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Datamash

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DataCracker

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Doronix Math Toolbox

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QIWare

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WinBUGS

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StatsDirect

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Terrene

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Variables

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SymbolicC++

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Gaio Analytics Platform

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