head to head · open source
Apache SkyWalking vs opentelemetry-python
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars, 6,633 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. opentelemetry-python has 2,636 stars, 1,008 forks, 425 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Apache SkyWalking leads on adoption by 847% (24,958 vs 2,636 stars). Apache SkyWalking is written in Java under Apache-2.0; opentelemetry-python is written in Python under Apache-2.0. Apache SkyWalking has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, opentelemetry-python 38%. opentelemetry-python was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (distributed-tracing, logging, 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 | opentelemetry-python | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 2.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| 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 opentelemetry-python if
- You want the opentelemetry-python feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and opentelemetry-python 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 opentelemetry-python
OpenTelemetry Python is the Python implementation of the OpenTelemetry API and SDK, giving Python developers vendor neutral instrumentation for traces, metrics and logs across distributed systems.
read the full opentelemetry-python overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Apache SkyWalking or opentelemetry-python more popular?
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars and opentelemetry-python has 2,636. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community by that measure.
Are Apache SkyWalking and opentelemetry-python free?
Both are open source. Apache SkyWalking is licensed under Apache-2.0 and opentelemetry-python under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Apache SkyWalking and opentelemetry-python?
Apache SkyWalking is written in Java and opentelemetry-python in Python. 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 opentelemetry-python?
Choose Apache SkyWalking if you want the larger community (24,958 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose opentelemetry-python if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.