head to head · open source
Apache SkyWalking vs loongcollector
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars, 6,633 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. loongcollector has 2,196 stars, 450 forks, 166 open issues and last shipped today. Apache SkyWalking leads on adoption by 1,037% (24,958 vs 2,196 stars). Apache SkyWalking is written in Java under Apache-2.0; loongcollector is written in C++ under Apache-2.0. Apache SkyWalking has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, loongcollector 20%. loongcollector was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (apm, ebpf, 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.
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Side by side
| Apache SkyWalking | loongcollector | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 2.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 450 |
| 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 loongcollector if
- You want the loongcollector feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and loongcollector 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 loongcollector
LoongCollector is an Apache 2.0, C++ based observability data collector from Alibaba that runs as a universal node agent for logs, metrics, traces, events and profiles, and it is built for platform, SRE and security teams operating Kubernetes clusters and high volume production fleets.
read the full loongcollector overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Apache SkyWalking or loongcollector more popular?
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars and loongcollector has 2,196. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community by that measure.
Are Apache SkyWalking and loongcollector free?
Both are open source. Apache SkyWalking is licensed under Apache-2.0 and loongcollector under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Apache SkyWalking and loongcollector?
Apache SkyWalking is written in Java and loongcollector 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 loongcollector?
Choose Apache SkyWalking if you want the larger community (24,958 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose loongcollector if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.