head to head · open source
Apache SkyWalking vs grimoirelab
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars, 6,633 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. grimoirelab has 626 stars, 231 forks, 78 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Apache SkyWalking leads on adoption by 3,887% (24,958 vs 626 stars). Apache SkyWalking is written in Java under Apache-2.0; grimoirelab is written in Shell under GPL-3.0. Apache SkyWalking has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, grimoirelab 37%. 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 (metrics), 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 | grimoirelab | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 626 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 231 |
| 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 grimoirelab if
- You want the grimoirelab feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and grimoirelab 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 grimoirelab
GrimoireLab is a GPL 3.0 licensed CHAOSS toolset for software development analytics that retrieves data from the systems used to support software development, stores it in databases, enriches it by computing metrics, and makes it available for analytics and visualization, aimed at the people who need to measure development activity rather than guess at it.
read the full grimoirelab overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Apache SkyWalking or grimoirelab more popular?
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars and grimoirelab has 626. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community by that measure.
Are Apache SkyWalking and grimoirelab free?
Both are open source. Apache SkyWalking is licensed under Apache-2.0 and grimoirelab under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Apache SkyWalking and grimoirelab?
Apache SkyWalking is written in Java and grimoirelab in Shell. 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 grimoirelab?
Choose Apache SkyWalking if you want the larger community (24,958 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose grimoirelab if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.