head to head · open source
Apache SkyWalking vs hubble
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars, 6,633 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. hubble has 4,340 stars, 301 forks, 44 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Apache SkyWalking leads on adoption by 475% (24,958 vs 4,340 stars). Apache SkyWalking is written in Java under Apache-2.0; hubble is written in Makefile under Apache-2.0. Apache SkyWalking has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, hubble 7%. Apache SkyWalking was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (ebpf, metrics, 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Apache SkyWalking | hubble | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 4.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Makefile |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 301 |
| 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 hubble if
- You want the hubble feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Makefile
- You evaluated both and hubble 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 hubble
Hubble is fully distributed networking and security observability platform for cloud native workloads. It lives in Kubernetes ecosystem, built on Cilium and eBPF. It gives transparent visibility into service communication, service behavior, and networking infrastructure.
read the full hubble overview →
More in Infrastructure & Operations
Related comparisons
More Monitoring & Observability projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Monitoring & Observability field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Apache SkyWalking or hubble more popular?
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars and hubble has 4,340. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community by that measure.
Are Apache SkyWalking and hubble free?
Both are open source. Apache SkyWalking is licensed under Apache-2.0 and hubble under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Apache SkyWalking and hubble?
Apache SkyWalking is written in Java and hubble in Makefile. 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 hubble?
Choose Apache SkyWalking if you want the larger community (24,958 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose hubble if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.