🎯

K-Means Clustering

Unsupervised

🌿

Hierarchical Clustering

Unsupervised

Which should you use?

K-Means partitions data into k flat clusters, while hierarchical clustering builds a tree of nested clusters without requiring k upfront.

Key Differences

Factor

K-Means Clustering

Hierarchical Clustering

Input

Must specify k

No k needed upfront

Output

Flat partitioning

Nested hierarchy

Scalability

O(nkt) - scalable

O(n²) or O(n³)

Cluster Shape

Spherical

Arbitrary

Use K-Means Clustering when:

Know number of clusters

Large dataset

Spherical cluster shapes

Speed is important

Learn K-Means Clustering

Use Hierarchical Clustering when:

Unknown number of clusters

Want cluster hierarchy/dendrogram

Smaller dataset

Non-globular cluster shapes

Learn Hierarchical Clustering

Real-World Applications

K-Means Clustering

Customer segmentation

Image compression

Document clustering

Hierarchical Clustering

Taxonomy

Gene expression

Social network analysis

Ready to learn both algorithms?

Interactive lessons with visualizations and hands-on practice

Explore ML Algorithms

🎯

K-Means Clustering

Unsupervised

🌿

Hierarchical Clustering

Unsupervised

Which should you use?

K-Means partitions data into k flat clusters, while hierarchical clustering builds a tree of nested clusters without requiring k upfront.

Key Differences

Factor

K-Means Clustering

Hierarchical Clustering

Input

Must specify k

No k needed upfront

Output

Flat partitioning

Nested hierarchy

Scalability

O(nkt) - scalable

O(n²) or O(n³)

Cluster Shape

Spherical

Arbitrary

Use K-Means Clustering when:

Know number of clusters

Large dataset

Spherical cluster shapes

Speed is important

Learn K-Means Clustering

Use Hierarchical Clustering when:

Unknown number of clusters

Want cluster hierarchy/dendrogram

Smaller dataset

Non-globular cluster shapes

Learn Hierarchical Clustering

Real-World Applications

K-Means Clustering

Customer segmentation

Image compression

Document clustering

Hierarchical Clustering

Taxonomy

Gene expression

Social network analysis

Ready to learn both algorithms?

Interactive lessons with visualizations and hands-on practice

Explore ML Algorithms