MATLAB vs R: The Ultimate Comparison
When it comes to statistical analysis, professionals usually prefer coding languages. Two of the most widely used programming languages in this field are R and MATLAB. However, students, beginners, and new to coding, often find it challenging to decide which one to use or learn. Both of these languages have their own unique features, advantages, and drawbacks. Here we are providing a comprehensive comparison between R and MATLAB based on their features, performance, and user experience.
Features
One of the significant differences between the two languages is the range of features they offer. MATLAB is more focused on computations and is widely used for matrix operations, numerical computations, and signal processing. It comes with a large number of built-in toolboxes that offer functions for almost everything you need, including signal processing, matrix manipulation, and image processing. In contrast, R is more focused on data science and has a wide range of statistical and visualization packages that make it a go-to language for data-driven work.
Matlab also allows for symbolic computation which is useful in Engineering, Physics, and other disciplines.
Performance
When it comes to performance, MATLAB is written in C and C++, which makes it significantly faster than R. On the other hand, R is an interpreted language and works by interpreting the R code at runtime. Therefore, running complex algorithms on large datasets in R may require substantial memory and time.
User Experience
When it comes to user experience, it depends mostly on the user's perspective and preference. MATLAB has a cleaner and more modern user interface that is more user-friendly, especially for beginners. MATLAB also has a comprehensive documentation system for its built-in functions which makes it much more straightforward to find solutions to problems. R comes with a steeper learning curve, especially when it comes to working with packages, but can offer more robust and customizable solutions with a bit of learning.
Conclusion
In conclusion, both languages have their own unique research niches and are widely used in their respective fields. While MATLAB is better suited for matrix calculations and engineering-type mathematics, R provides a great platform for data science-related work. In the end, it depends on the user's preference and the nature of the project they are working on.
We recommend beginners to go for MATLAB, while intermediate/advance users can go for R or learn both languages. After all, more tools only increase your versatility!
References
- MATLAB vs R for Data Science - Which One to Choose? (2019, November 29) https://www.upgrad.com/blog/matlab-vs-r-for-data-science/
- MATLAB vs R for Data Analysis — Which one is Better? (2021, March 31) https://medium.com/swlh/matlab-vs-r-for-data-analysis-which-one-is-better-573d2f95aff6
- Comparison between R and MATLAB. (2016, September 19) https://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/235542/comparison-between-r-and-matlab