Comparisons of software packages for generalized linear multilevel models

We review five software packages that can fit a generalized linear mixed model for data with more than a two-level structure and a multiple number of independent variables. These five packages are MLn, MLwiN, SAS Proc Mixed (Glimmix Macro), HLM, and VARCL. We first discuss the features of each of the five packages. These features include data input and data management, statistical model capabilities, output, and user friendliness. We then compare their performance on several simulated datasets.