head to head · open source
Apache SkyWalking vs aya
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars, 6,633 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. aya has 4,817 stars, 476 forks, 201 open issues and last shipped today. Apache SkyWalking leads on adoption by 418% (24,958 vs 4,817 stars). Apache SkyWalking is written in Java under Apache-2.0; aya is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. Apache SkyWalking has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, aya 10%. aya was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ebpf, observability), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Apache SkyWalking | aya | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 4.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 476 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Apache SkyWalking if
- You weight community size — 25K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick aya if
- You want the aya feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and aya fits your workflow better
About Apache SkyWalking
Apache SkyWalking is an open source application performance monitoring (APM) system for distributed systems in cloud native architectures, built for teams that run microservices across Kubernetes and container based environments.
read the full Apache SkyWalking overview →
About aya
Aya is an eBPF library for the Rust programming language, built with a focus on developer experience and operability, and it exists so that Rust developers can load, attach, and drive eBPF programs running inside the Linux kernel without depending on C toolchains or C eBPF frameworks.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Apache SkyWalking or aya more popular?
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars and aya has 4,817. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community by that measure.
Are Apache SkyWalking and aya free?
Both are open source. Apache SkyWalking is licensed under Apache-2.0 and aya under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Apache SkyWalking and aya?
Apache SkyWalking is written in Java and aya in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Apache SkyWalking or aya?
Choose Apache SkyWalking if you want the larger community (24,958 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose aya if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.