head to head · open source
Apache SkyWalking vs PhpMetrics
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars, 6,633 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. PhpMetrics has 2,612 stars, 261 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Apache SkyWalking leads on adoption by 856% (24,958 vs 2,612 stars). Apache SkyWalking is written in Java under Apache-2.0; PhpMetrics is written in PHP under MIT. Apache SkyWalking has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, PhpMetrics 10%. 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 | PhpMetrics | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 2.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 261 |
| 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 PhpMetrics if
- You want the PhpMetrics feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and PhpMetrics 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 PhpMetrics
PhpMetrics is an MIT licensed static analysis tool for PHP, distributed through Composer as phpmetrics/phpmetrics , that computes metrics about a PHP project and its classes and renders them as an HTML report for developers, tech leads, and CI pipelines that need visible code quality data.
read the full PhpMetrics overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Apache SkyWalking or PhpMetrics more popular?
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars and PhpMetrics has 2,612. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community by that measure.
Are Apache SkyWalking and PhpMetrics free?
Both are open source. Apache SkyWalking is licensed under Apache-2.0 and PhpMetrics under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Apache SkyWalking and PhpMetrics?
Apache SkyWalking is written in Java and PhpMetrics in PHP. 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 PhpMetrics?
Choose Apache SkyWalking if you want the larger community (24,958 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose PhpMetrics if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.