Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

nbviewer.org VS Binder

Compare nbviewer.org VS Binder and see what are their differences

nbviewer.org logo nbviewer.org

Rackspace server host Jupyter Notebooks from your github repo

Binder logo Binder

Turn a Git repo into a collection of interactive notebooks
  • nbviewer.org Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-19
  • Binder Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-22

nbviewer.org features and specs

  • Simple Viewing
    nbviewer.org allows for easy rendering of Jupyter Notebook files directly in the browser without needing to run a Jupyter server locally.
  • Read-Only Access
    Notebooks are rendered in a read-only format, so users do not need to worry about accidental modifications while viewing.
  • No Installation Required
    Users don't need to install any software to view notebooks, which is beneficial for quick sharing with people who do not have Jupyter installed.
  • Supports Multiple File Sources
    Supports notebooks from various sources including URLs, GitHub repositories, and uploaded files.

Possible disadvantages of nbviewer.org

  • Lack of Interactivity
    Since nbviewer renders notebooks in a static, read-only mode, users cannot interact with the code or execute cells.
  • Dependency on External Hosting
    Requires access to hosted content, which may be unavailable if the source server is down or if there are network issues.
  • Security Concerns
    Hosting a notebook publicly via a URL or GitHub can expose sensitive data if not properly managed, as nbviewer does not provide authentication or access control.
  • No Offline Access
    Users need an internet connection to use nbviewer, which limits its utility in offline scenarios.

Binder features and specs

  • Accessibility
    Binder is completely web-based, allowing users to access and run Jupyter notebooks directly from their browsers without needing to install any software locally.
  • Cost-effective
    The service is free to use, which makes it accessible for educational purposes, research collaborations, and demonstrations without the financial burden.
  • Immediate Sharing
    Binder allows for quick sharing of interactive code and analysis by simply providing a link to the Binder instance, facilitating easy collaboration and dissemination.
  • Reproducibility
    Binder can generate environments based on configuration files, ensuring that analyses are reproducible and can be executed with the same dependencies and settings across different systems.

Possible disadvantages of Binder

  • Performance Limitations
    Binder instances are limited in terms of computational resources and runtime, which can be a constraint for projects requiring extensive computational power or long-running processes.
  • Session Persistence
    Instances are temporary, meaning any changes made during a session are lost once the session ends, which can be problematic for ongoing work if not backed up elsewhere.
  • Dependency Restrictions
    While Binder supports many off-the-shelf environments, complex dependencies or custom environments might require more intricate configuration and are not guaranteed to work perfectly.
  • Scalability
    There might be scalability issues for high demand usage, especially in educational settings or large conferences, as the free tier can be saturated, affecting performance and availability.

nbviewer.org videos

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Binder videos

gc2b vs Underworks Binder Comparison - which one should you buy???

More videos:

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to nbviewer.org and Binder)
Data Science And Machine Learning
Data Science Notebooks
53 53%
47% 47
Data Visualization
56 56%
44% 44
Data Science Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Binder should be more popular than nbviewer.org. It has been mentiond 36 times since March 2021. 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.

nbviewer.org mentions (13)

  • Jupyter kernel for Logtalk
    Example notebooks are included in the repo and can be previewed using nbviewer:. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Is there a CodePen/OverLeaf equivalent for sharing and viewing Jupyter Notebooks/Labs
    Nbviewer (https://nbviewer.org/): very easy to use for smaller jupyter notebook that does not require heavy rendering. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Collaborative Jupyter Whiteboards
    Nbconvert renders everything exactly as it looks in your notebook app into a read-only HTML version and is what GitHub uses for notebooks. Interactive plots from Bokeh, Holoviews, etc can still work if you trust the JS, and since editing notebooks while showing them during a meeting usually doesn't go well, read-only is probably good enough (eager to hear feedback on this point though). The nice thing is that... Source: over 2 years ago
  • First data science project (visualization): What should I improve on?
    Just as a heads up, I used plotly to generate a lot of the charts, so you'll need to view it from an nbviewer like nbviewer.org. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Can someone please review my data visualisation notebook?
    I used a lot of plotly not knowing that Github wouldn't show it, so you'll need notebook viewer like nbviewer.org to see some of the charts. Source: about 3 years ago
View more

Binder mentions (36)

  • Accessible open textbooks in math-heavy disciplines
    Textbooks, though? Interactive is what they want. How can we make textbooks interactive? It used to be that textbooks were to be copied down from; copy by hand from the textbook. To engage and entertain this generation. ManimCE, scriptable 3d simulators with test assertions, Thebelab, Jupyter Book docs > "Launch into interactive computing interfaces" > BinderHub ( https://mybinder.org ), JupyterHub, Colab,... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • RStudio: Integrated development environment (IDE) for R
    The closest Python equivalent to RStudio is the JupyterLab Desktop app[1,2], which I highly recommend. I've entirely switched to using it for teaching, and it is a godsend, since it works the same way across platforms (win/mac/linux), installs its own Python interpreter independent of any system Python the student might have, and even comes with NumPy/SciPy/Pandas/Seaborn/statsmodels already installed, which... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • A list of SaaS, PaaS and IaaS offerings that have free tiers of interest to devops and infradev
    Binder - Turn a Git repo into a collection of interactive notebooks. It is a free public service. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Best tools to teach python in a classroom
    I would use https://mybinder.org/ if you can't install anything. It's supported by NumFocus but otherwise runs on donations. You specify requirements in code and they build a docker image from your github repository. I think they should be able to download their notebook and submit it to you - it's been awhile since I used it. But I think they need to have a single person doing the typing. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Is anyone using Cloud Dev Environments (e.g. Codespaces/Replit) at work?
    You can use Binder https://mybinder.org . If the students have Gmail account, try Google Colab. Pretty easy to use. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing nbviewer.org and Binder, you can also consider the following products

Jupyter - Project Jupyter exists to develop open-source software, open-standards, and services for interactive computing across dozens of programming languages. Ready to get started? Try it in your browser Install the Notebook.

Livebook - Automate code & data workflows with interactive Elixir notebooks

Workomo - Find out everything about people before you meet

Observable - Interactive code examples/posts

Deepnote - A collaboration platform for data scientists

nteract - nteract is a desktop application that allows you to develop rich documents that contain prose...