RStudio is the leading IDE for R
Updated December 23, 2020
RStudio is the leading IDE for R

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with RStudio
RStudio is the leading tool for running R code interactively. We use it for bioinformatics and data science research. While RStudio is free, RStudio the company also offers a series of paid offerings with additional features. They do a good job supporting their paid products. Overall, RStudio is the top tool for running R code.
- Interactive usage
- Good community support
- Active development
- Better documentation on new offerings
- Better debugging of community offerings
- Less closed ecosystem
- Allows novice users to use R
- Interactive feedback
- Good core feature set
RStudio gives a more integrated R experience compared to Jupyter. RStudio is the ideal tool for running R interactively.
Using RStudio
100 - RStudio is the major IDE for R, and R is used for statistical and bioinformatics analysis across multiple groups. R is the leading and often only tool for many different types of analysis.
100 - There are a range of skills for RStudio users, from new fellows just starting biostatistics/bioinformatics work to senior users who have many years of experience.
- Biostatistic modeling - regression analysis etc
- Bioinformatics analysis - microbiome, RNA-seq, etc
- Machine Learning through caret
- Build dash boards to facilitate cooperation between groups.
- Use notebooks for interactive training.
- Use notebooks for sharing
- More dashboards in the future.
- More notebooks for cooperation.
- Better reproducibility through Rproj and Renv
Evaluating RStudio and Competitors
- Product Features
- Product Usability
RStudio allows interactive R coding, which is a major language used by our institutions. It allows both novice and expert users to have a good experience with R.
I won't. RStudio products are the best for R
RStudio Implementation
- Implemented in-house
Change management was minimal - More training and communication with users.
- Changing expectations from users.
RStudio Support
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed Immediate help available Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
Yes - Included in our purchase
Yes - Yes. It was handled quickly and promptly.
We were discussing some additional features, and the product support team helped us find equivalent functions.
Using RStudio
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using | None |
- Environment reproduction
- Literate notebooks
- Rproj for building projects
- Running cluster or parallel jobs