head to head · open source
Apache SkyWalking vs FASTER
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars, 6,633 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. FASTER has 6,636 stars, 595 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Apache SkyWalking leads on adoption by 276% (24,958 vs 6,636 stars). Apache SkyWalking is written in Java under Apache-2.0; FASTER is written in C# under MIT. Apache SkyWalking has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, FASTER 9%. Apache SkyWalking was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (logging), 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 | FASTER | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 6.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 595 |
| 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 FASTER if
- You want the FASTER feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and FASTER 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 FASTER
FASTER is an open source project from Microsoft that provides a fast persistent recoverable log and key value store plus cache, implemented in C and C++. It lives in the .NET ecosystem, with a parallel C++ implementation of the key value component, and is distributed primarily through the NuGet package Microsoft.FASTER.Core. The repository carries the MIT license and the project has been in development for roughly eight years, with topics covering concurrent and multi threaded operation, hash tables, indexing, key value storage, logging, persistence, and recoverability.
read the full FASTER overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Apache SkyWalking or FASTER more popular?
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars and FASTER has 6,636. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community by that measure.
Are Apache SkyWalking and FASTER free?
Both are open source. Apache SkyWalking is licensed under Apache-2.0 and FASTER under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Apache SkyWalking and FASTER?
Apache SkyWalking is written in Java and FASTER in C#. 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 FASTER?
Choose Apache SkyWalking if you want the larger community (24,958 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose FASTER if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.