Downloading R and RStudio

R Logo

R is maintained by an international team of developers who make the language available through the web page of The Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN).
Regardless of your operating system (Windows or Mac OS), you will first need to navigate HERE. This link will redirect you to the CRAN Mirror maintained by Duke University (NC). CRAN Mirrors are servers that hosts CRAN files, allowing you to download R packages and updates from a geographically closer or faster location. While there are many mirrors located in the United States, Duke’s is closest in proximity to the University of Florida.

Downloading R for Windows

  1. Select ``Download R for Windows''
  2. You want to select the base option. This will likely include a notice stating (something along the lines of) This is what you want to install R for the first time
  3. The link downloads an installer program, which installs the most up-to-date version of R for Windows. Run this program and step through the installation wizard that appears.
  4. The wizard will install R into your program files folders and place a shortcut in your Start menu

Downloading R for MacOS

  1. Select ``Download R for macOS''
  2. Select the link attributed to the most recent version of R and MacOS (as of September 2025, R 4.5.1)
  3. An installer will download to guide you through the installation process. Although the installer provides for custom settings, it is unlikely this will be necessary

Downloading and Running RStudio

R isn’t a program that you can just open and run – it is a programming language that, when operationalized through an interpreter, is capable of translating your code into instructions that a computer can execute to perform statistical analyses, manipulate data, and create visualizations.

When downloading R from CRAN, the program automatically installs RGui – a graphical user interface. This no-frills version of R is likely a version you have seen being used among researchers (and programmers) who have been around for a bit.

Luckily, most researchers today use an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) called RStudio – and I recommend you do that, as well. Downloading RStudio is relatively straightforward and generally the same on both Mac and Windows machines. Simply navigate HERE and select Download RStudio Desktop for Free. Follow the installation instructions and you should be good to go.

Note: RStudio itself does not come with a packaged version of R (nor a copy of its program files) – you will still need to download a version of R. Otherwise, RStudio should be able to automatically locate the program files with the version of R you just downloaded.