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Apache Mahout VS Scikit-learn

Compare Apache Mahout VS Scikit-learn and see what are their differences

Apache Mahout logo Apache Mahout

Distributed Linear Algebra

Scikit-learn logo Scikit-learn

scikit-learn (formerly scikits.learn) is an open source machine learning library for the Python programming language.
  • Apache Mahout Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-18
  • Scikit-learn Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-05-06

Apache Mahout features and specs

  • Scalability
    Apache Mahout is designed to handle large data sets, leveraging Hadoop to process data in parallel across distributed computing clusters, which allows for scaling as data size increases.
  • Library of Algorithms
    Mahout offers a substantial collection of pre-built machine learning algorithms for clustering, classification, and collaborative filtering, making it easier to implement standard ML tasks without developing them from scratch.
  • Integration with Hadoop
    Seamless integration with the Hadoop ecosystem enables Mahout to efficiently process and analyze large-scale data directly within a Hadoop cluster using MapReduce.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project under the Apache Software Foundation, Mahout benefits from continuous improvements and community support, providing transparency and flexibility for users.
  • Focus on Math
    Mahout emphasizes mathematically sound algorithms, ensuring accuracy and robustness in machine learning models, backed by a foundation in linear algebra.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Mahout

  • Complexity
    Although powerful, Mahout can be complex and difficult to use for beginners, as it requires understanding of both Hadoop and the underlying machine learning algorithms.
  • Limited Deep Learning Capabilities
    Mahout is primarily focused on traditional machine learning techniques and lacks support for more modern deep learning frameworks, which may limit its applicability for certain advanced use cases.
  • Declining Popularity
    Although once well-regarded, Mahout has seen a decline in popularity with more users favoring newer tools such as Apache Spark's MLlib, which offer improved performance and a broader range of capabilities.
  • Setup Overhead
    Setting up and configuring a Hadoop environment to run Mahout can be a non-trivial task, requiring considerable effort and resources, particularly in smaller projects or organizations without existing Hadoop infrastructure.
  • API Inconsistency
    Over time, the API has undergone changes which can cause compatibility issues or require significant code refactoring when upgrading to newer versions of Mahout.

Scikit-learn features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Scikit-learn provides a high-level interface for common machine learning algorithms, making it easy for beginners and professionals to implement complex models with minimal coding.
  • Extensive Documentation and Community Support
    The library has comprehensive documentation and a large, active community. This makes it easy to find tutorials, examples, and solutions to common problems.
  • Integration with Other Libraries
    Scikit-learn integrates well with other scientific computing libraries such as NumPy, SciPy, and pandas, allowing for seamless data manipulation and analysis.
  • Variety of Algorithms
    It offers a wide array of machine learning algorithms for tasks such as classification, regression, clustering, and dimensionality reduction.
  • Performance
    Designed with performance in mind, many of the algorithms are optimized and some even support multicore processing.

Possible disadvantages of Scikit-learn

  • Limited Deep Learning Support
    Scikit-learn is primarily focused on traditional machine learning algorithms and does not offer support for deep learning models, unlike libraries like TensorFlow or PyTorch.
  • Not Ideal for Large-Scale Data
    While Scikit-learn performs well for moderate-sized datasets, it may not be the best choice for extremely large datasets or big data applications.
  • Lack of Online Learning Algorithms
    The library has limited support for online learning algorithms, which are useful for scenarios where data arrives in a stream and model needs to be updated incrementally.
  • Less Flexibility in Customization
    It can be less flexible compared to lower-level libraries when highly customized or specific implementations are needed.
  • Dependency Overhead
    Scikit-learn relies on several other Python libraries like NumPy and SciPy, which might require users to manage multiple dependencies.

Apache Mahout videos

Apache Mahout Tutorial-1 | Apache Mahout Tutorial for Beginners-1 | Edureka

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Machine Learning with Mahout | Apache Mahout Tutorial | Edureka

Scikit-learn videos

Learning Scikit-Learn (AI Adventures)

More videos:

  • Review - Python Machine Learning Review | Learn python for machine learning. Learn Scikit-learn.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Mahout and Scikit-learn)
Data Dashboard
19 19%
81% 81
Data Science And Machine Learning
Data Science Tools
2 2%
98% 98
Development
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Apache Mahout and Scikit-learn

Apache Mahout Reviews

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Scikit-learn Reviews

15 data science tools to consider using in 2021
Scikit-learn is an open source machine learning library for Python that's built on the SciPy and NumPy scientific computing libraries, plus Matplotlib for plotting data. It supports both supervised and unsupervised machine learning and includes numerous algorithms and models, called estimators in scikit-learn parlance. Additionally, it provides functionality for model...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Scikit-learn seems to be a lot more popular than Apache Mahout. While we know about 31 links to Scikit-learn, we've tracked only 3 mentions of Apache Mahout. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Mahout mentions (3)

  • Apache Mahout: A Deep Dive into Open Source Innovation and Funding Models
    Apache Mahout stands as a prime example of how open source projects can thrive through community collaboration, transparent governance, and diversified funding strategies. Its integration of traditional corporate sponsorship and avant-garde blockchain tokenization demonstrates that sustainability in open source development is not only feasible but can also be dynamic and innovative. Whether you are a developer... - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • In One Minute : Hadoop
    Mahout, a library of machine learning algorithms compatible with M/R paradigm. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • 20+ Free Tools & Resources for Machine Learning
    Mahout Apache Mahout (TM) is a distributed linear algebra framework and mathematically expressive Scala DSL designed to let mathematicians, statisticians, and data scientists quickly implement their own algorithms. - Source: dev.to / about 3 years ago

Scikit-learn mentions (31)

  • Must-Know 2025 Developer’s Roadmap and Key Programming Trends
    Python’s Growth in Data Work and AI: Python continues to lead because of its easy-to-read style and the huge number of libraries available for tasks from data work to artificial intelligence. Tools like TensorFlow and PyTorch make it a must-have. Whether you’re experienced or just starting, Python’s clear style makes it a good choice for diving into machine learning. Actionable Tip: If you’re new to Python,... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • 🚀 Launching a High-Performance DistilBERT-Based Sentiment Analysis Model for Steam Reviews 🎮🤖
    Scikit-learn (optional): Useful for additional training or evaluation tasks. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Essential Deep Learning Checklist: Best Practices Unveiled
    How to Accomplish: Utilize data splitting tools in libraries like Scikit-learn to partition your dataset. Make sure the split mirrors the real-world distribution of your data to avoid biased evaluations. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • How to Build a Logistic Regression Model: A Spam-filter Tutorial
    Online Courses: Coursera: "Machine Learning" by Andrew Ng EdX: "Introduction to Machine Learning" by MIT Tutorials: Scikit-learn documentation: https://scikit-learn.org/ Kaggle Learn: https://www.kaggle.com/learn Books: "Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras & TensorFlow" by Aurélien Géron "The Elements of Statistical Learning" by Trevor Hastie, Robert Tibshirani, and Jerome Friedman By... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Link Prediction With node2vec in Physics Collaboration Network
    Firstly, we need a connection to Memgraph so we can get edges, split them into two parts (train set and test set). For edge splitting, we will use scikit-learn. In order to make a connection towards Memgraph, we will use gqlalchemy. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Mahout and Scikit-learn, you can also consider the following products

Apache Ambari - Ambari is aimed at making Hadoop management simpler by developing software for provisioning, managing, and monitoring Hadoop clusters.

Pandas - Pandas is an open source library providing high-performance, easy-to-use data structures and data analysis tools for the Python.

Apache HBase - Apache HBase – Apache HBase™ Home

OpenCV - OpenCV is the world's biggest computer vision library

Apache Pig - Pig is a high-level platform for creating MapReduce programs used with Hadoop.

NumPy - NumPy is the fundamental package for scientific computing with Python