head to head · open source
Apache SkyWalking vs logging-log4j2
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars, 6,633 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. logging-log4j2 has 3,636 stars, 1,744 forks, 212 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Apache SkyWalking leads on adoption by 586% (24,958 vs 3,636 stars). Apache SkyWalking is written in Java under Apache-2.0; logging-log4j2 is written in Java under Apache-2.0. Apache SkyWalking has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, logging-log4j2 48%. logging-log4j2 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 | logging-log4j2 | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 3.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-19 |
| 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 logging-log4j2 if
- You want the logging-log4j2 feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and logging-log4j2 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 logging-log4j2
Apache Log4j 2 is a versatile, industrial grade Java logging framework, composed of a logging API, its implementation, and components that assist deployment for various use cases, built for Java and JVM developers who need a logging stack inside their applications.
read the full logging-log4j2 overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Apache SkyWalking or logging-log4j2 more popular?
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars and logging-log4j2 has 3,636. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community by that measure.
Are Apache SkyWalking and logging-log4j2 free?
Both are open source. Apache SkyWalking is licensed under Apache-2.0 and logging-log4j2 under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Apache SkyWalking and logging-log4j2?
Apache SkyWalking is written in Java and logging-log4j2 in Java. 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 logging-log4j2?
Choose Apache SkyWalking if you want the larger community (24,958 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose logging-log4j2 if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.