data.table vs Ibis
data.table
rdatatable.gitlab.ioIbis
ibis-project.orgSide by side
| Figure | data.table | Ibis |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Data Transformation Tools | 8.5 (#11) | 8.5 (#12) |
| Integrations | data.table is an R package and can use R functions from other packages in queries. | The documented Python data integrations include pandas and Polars, with visualization tools such as matplotlib, seaborn, Plotly, Vega-Altair and plotnine. |
| Support | The project directs users who need help to the data.table community on Stack Overflow. | For help, the project points users to GitHub and Zulip, and says Voltron Data offers commercial support for Ibis. |
| What it is | data.table is an R package that provides a high-performance version of base R’s data.frame. | Ibis is an open-source portable Python dataframe library that executes on query engines through a consistent API. |
Plans
In their own words
data.table
data.table is a free R package providing a high-performance version of base R’s data.frame. Its code interface supports filtering, grouping, aggregation, ordered and rolling joins, overlapping and non-equi joins, reshaping with dcast and melt, and adding, updating, or deleting columns. fread() reads delimited text, including CSV, TSV, compressed .gz and .bz2 files, and can source web URLs or shell commands. fwrite() writes delimited files with an emphasis on speed for large files. Many operations use multiple CPU threads internally. Columns can be changed by reference without copies, and the project reports no external Imports, LinkingTo, or Depends dependencies. Queries can call R functions from other packages. data.table runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows and requires base R. It is self-hosted and licensed under MPL-2.0. The project’s stated scope excludes binary formats such as Parquet and data stored on disk or in remote SQL databases.
Ibis
Ibis is a free, open-source Python dataframe library that provides a consistent API across more than 20 query backends. It lets users compose SQL and Python dataframe code, bringing data engineering and data science workflows together. For local dataframes, Ibis uses DuckDB by default and also names Polars and DataFusion. The project describes a workflow that can start locally and move to remote execution by changing a single line of code.
Ibis supports and tests Google BigQuery, Snowflake, Databricks Cloud, and Amazon Athena; support for those cloud backends could move to best effort if funding ends. Supported data formats include CSV, TSV, JSON, Parquet, Delta Lake, and Avro. Install Ibis with a supported backend using pip, conda, mamba, or pixi. One package distinction matters: the PyPI package named ibis is separate from ibis-framework, and the two cannot coexist in one Python environment because both use the ibis module name. Operation coverage varies by backend due to differences in SQL dialects and upstream support. The project recommends GitHub and Zulip for help, and Voltron Data offers commercial support.