MiRA › Tool comparison
+MiRA › Why MiRA
-- MiRA is a free, browser-based, installation-free tool for interactive visualisation of - multilayer networks in ecology and biology. This page compares it fairly with four other - widely used tools — muxViz, Arena3Dweb, - Gephi, and Cytoscape — so you can pick the right tool for - your question. Each of these is excellent at what it was built for; the table shows where - each one fits. + MiRA (Multilayer Interactive Rendering Application) is a free, browser-based, installation-free + tool for interactive visualisation of multilayer networks in ecology and biology. It is built + for one job and does it well: letting you see and interactively explore a multilayer + network — including bipartite and geographically explicit ones — without installing software + or writing code.
-+ Several excellent tools touch multilayer networks, but each was built for a different job, so + the right choice depends on what you actually need to do: +
++ While each is well suited to its own purpose, none is a browser-based, no-code tool + designed specifically for interactively visualizing multilayer networks — + with dedicated support for bipartite structures and geographic layer placement together. If you are looking for a muxViz or Arena3Dweb alternative + focused on interactive visualization rather than analysis or programming, MiRA is built for + exactly that. +
+ ++ MiRA is the only tool that brings the whole combination together in one place. It runs in any + web browser with no installation, no account, and no server, and it needs no coding — yet it + still integrates with R through the + emln package for those who + want it. It renders bipartite networks such as + plant–pollinator and host–parasite webs with a dedicated two-set layout, and it places layers + on a geographic map by their coordinates — the two + capabilities ecological multilayer networks most often require, which no other single tool + combines. +
++ On top of that, MiRA offers seven linked visualization modes, live filtering and weight + thresholding, and cross-layer highlighting that lights up a species in every layer at once — + so a network stays legible even as it grows complex. A whole session, data included, saves to + a single file that reopens the full visualization, and any view exports to a + publication-quality PNG, JPG, or PDF. Because everything happens in the browser, sharing MiRA + with a collaborator is just sharing a link. +
-| Capability | -MiRA | -muxViz | -Arena3Dweb | -Gephi | -Cytoscape | -
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runs in a browser, no installation | -Yes | -No — R package/GUI, installed locally | -Yes — web app (also self-hostable) | -No — desktop application | -No — desktop application | -
| Coding required to produce a visualization | -No — point-and-click (optional R via emln) | -Yes — R | -No — point-and-click (optional API) | -No — GUI (optional scripting) | -No — GUI (optional scripting) | -
| Built specifically for multilayer / multiplex networks | -Yes | -Yes | -Yes | -No — general single-graph tool | -No — general single-graph tool (multilayer via apps) | -
| Bipartite networks (e.g. plant–pollinator, host–parasite) | -Yes — dedicated bipartite layout | -No | -No | -Partial — can draw them, no bipartite-aware multilayer layout | -Partial — can draw them, no bipartite-aware multilayer layout | -
| Geographic placement of layers | -Yes — Map Mode (layers on a world map) | -Yes — georeferenced layers on OpenStreetMap | -No | -Partial — node geo-layout via a plugin | -Not built in | -
| Live interactive exploration (filter, threshold, highlight across layers) | -Yes — full | -Limited — rotate/zoom 3D; no live filtering | -Yes — real-time 3D manipulation and highlighting | -Yes — interactive GUI | -Yes — interactive GUI | -
| Figure / data export | -PNG, JPG, PDF; reproducible session file (data included) | -R graphics (PDF, PNG) | -PNG; session JSON (data included) | -PDF, SVG, PNG; GEXF, GraphML | -PNG, PDF, SVG; many network formats | -
| Licence | -CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 | -GPL | -Free, open-source (web) | -CDDL / GPL | -LGPL | -
| Runs in any browser | No installation, no account, no server | ||||
| No coding required | Point-and-click; optional R via the emln package | ||||
| Bipartite networks | Dedicated two-set layout (e.g. plant–pollinator, host–parasite) | ||||
| Geographic layers | Map Mode places layers on a world map by coordinates | ||||
| Visualization modes | Seven linked modes: Network, Map, Layer, Grid, Meta-Network, Dashboard, Data | ||||
| Interactive exploration | Live filtering, weight thresholding, and cross-layer highlighting | ||||
| Data in | JSON or CSV upload, or plot directly from the emln R package | ||||
| Reproducible output | Self-contained session file (data included); export PNG, JPG, PDF | ||||
| Cost and licence | Free and open source, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 |
+ Ready to try it? Open MiRA and load one of the built-in example + networks, or read the manual and + data format guide to bring your own. +
+- Claims about MiRA are drawn from its source code and manual. Claims about muxViz, - Arena3Dweb, Gephi, and Cytoscape are drawn from those projects' own documentation - and papers and were last checked in August 2026; capabilities change between versions, so - verify against the current release for a specific decision. Where a capability was uncertain, - the cell is qualified rather than asserted. + Other tools above are described by their primary design purpose; capabilities evolve between + versions, so consult each project's own documentation for its current feature set. Claims about + MiRA are drawn from its source code and manual.