head to head · open source
Apache SkyWalking vs gf
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars, 6,633 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. gf has 13,277 stars, 1,719 forks, 148 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Apache SkyWalking leads on adoption by 88% (24,958 vs 13,277 stars). Apache SkyWalking is written in Java under Apache-2.0; gf is written in Go under MIT. Apache SkyWalking has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, gf 13%. gf 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 | gf | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 13K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 1.7K |
| 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 gf if
- You want the gf feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and gf 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 gf
GoFrame is an MIT licensed, production ready application framework for the Go programming language that provides a full stack toolkit — HTTP server, ORM, logging, tracing, and command line scaffolding — in a single dependency, aimed at Go teams that want one coherent framework instead of assembling many separate libraries.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Apache SkyWalking or gf more popular?
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars and gf has 13,277. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community by that measure.
Are Apache SkyWalking and gf free?
Both are open source. Apache SkyWalking is licensed under Apache-2.0 and gf under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Apache SkyWalking and gf?
Apache SkyWalking is written in Java and gf in Go. 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 gf?
Choose Apache SkyWalking if you want the larger community (24,958 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose gf if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.