Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

R Markdown VS Quarto

Compare R Markdown VS Quarto and see what are their differences

R Markdown logo R Markdown

Dynamic Documents for R

Quarto logo Quarto

Open-source scientific and technical publishing system built on Pandoc.
  • R Markdown Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-19
  • Quarto Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-20

R Markdown features and specs

  • Reproducibility
    R Markdown allows users to embed R code within a document, ensuring that analyses are reproducible. Changes to data or code will automatically update outputs in the document.
  • Interactivity
    Users can create interactive documents using Shiny components, enabling dynamic exploration and presentation of data directly from an R Markdown file.
  • Versatility
    R Markdown supports multiple output formats, including HTML, PDF, Word, and slides, making it versatile for different reporting needs.
  • Integration
    Seamlessly integrates with R and the RStudio IDE, allowing easy code execution, visualization, and document creation in a single environment.
  • Customization
    Supports extensive customization with themes, templates, and support for LaTeX, ensuring documents fit specific stylistic and formatting requirements.

Possible disadvantages of R Markdown

  • Learning Curve
    Beginners may find it challenging to learn R Markdown due to the need to understand both Markdown syntax and R code integration.
  • Complexity with Large Projects
    Managing large projects can become complex, especially when integrating multiple datasets, scripts, and output types.
  • Performance Limitations
    Rendering large documents with extensive computations can be slow and may require substantial computational resources.
  • Limited Native Support
    R Markdown's native support for certain advanced features is limited, and additional packages or configurations may be necessary.
  • Dependency Management
    Ensuring all required packages and their versions are correctly installed and managed across different environments can be challenging.

Quarto features and specs

  • Versatility
    Quarto supports a wide variety of output formats such as HTML, PDF, Word, and PowerPoint, making it highly versatile for different publishing needs.
  • Extensibility
    Users can extend Quarto with their own custom templates and formats, allowing for a high degree of customization and integration with existing workflows.
  • Interactivity
    Supports interactive features such as embedded plots and widgets, which enhance the reader's experience by allowing them to engage with the content.
  • Multi-language Support
    Quarto allows users to write documents with R, Python, Julia, and JavaScript, providing flexibility to data scientists and analysts working across different programming environments.
  • Reproducibility
    Promotes reproducible research by supporting literate programming where code and its output are embedded within the document, ensuring results can be independently verified.

Possible disadvantages of Quarto

  • Learning Curve
    New users may find the initial setup and learning phase challenging, especially if they are not familiar with markdown or programming concepts.
  • Limited Built-in Templates
    While users can create their own templates, the number of built-in templates is limited, potentially requiring more upfront work to design desired layouts.
  • Dependency Management
    Managing the environment and dependencies, especially with multiple programming languages, can be complex, potentially leading to version conflicts or execution issues.
  • Performance
    For very large documents or extensive interactive elements, performance can become an issue, leading to longer rendering times.

R Markdown videos

R Markdown with RStudio for Beginners | Google Data Analytics Certificate

More videos:

  • Review - Making your R Markdown Pretty

Quarto videos

Quarto Review and tutorial

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to play Quarto
  • Review - Quarto Review with the Vasel Girls

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to R Markdown and Quarto)
Text Editors
42 42%
58% 58
Configuration Management
0 0%
100% 100
CMS
43 43%
57% 57
Python IDE
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Quarto seems to be a lot more popular than R Markdown. While we know about 41 links to Quarto, we've tracked only 4 mentions of R Markdown. 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.

R Markdown mentions (4)

  • Reinventing notebooks as reusable Python programs
    I am surprised they didn't mention RMarkdown (https://rmarkdown.rstudio.com/), which was developed in parallel to Jupyter Notebooks, with lots of convergent evolution. RMarkdown is essentially Markdown with executable code blocks. While it comes from an R background, code blocks can be written in any language (and you can mix multiple languages). The biggest difference (and, I would say, advantage) is that it... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • Mdx – Execute Your Markdown Code Blocks, Now in Go
    Reminds me a lot of rmarkdown - which allows you to run many languages in a similar fashion https://rmarkdown.rstudio.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • Pandoc
    I'm surprised to see no one has pointed out [RMarkdown + RStudio](https://rmarkdown.rstudio.com) as one way to immediately interface with Pandoc. I used to write papers and slides in LaTeX (using vim, because who needs render previews), then eventually switched to Pandoc (also vim). I eventually discovered RMarkdown+RStudio. I was looking for a nice way to format a simple table and discovered that rmarkdown had... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • 2023 Lookback
    Then, I worked on a Shiny project where I had to learn R Markdown. I was very excited about it because being paid to learn a new technology is something I have always preferred. I also worked with Highcharts graphs, which I didn’t do for years. It was also the first time I was being paid to design something. I didn’t enjoy that part as much as development, but I cannot say it was a bother either. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago

Quarto mentions (41)

View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing R Markdown and Quarto, you can also consider the following products

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Hugo - Hugo is a general-purpose website framework for generating static web pages.

A Dedicated Dev - Subscribe to monthly web development services.