head to head · open source
Apache SkyWalking vs qtap
Apache SkyWalking has 24,988 GitHub stars, 6,632 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. qtap has 1,465 stars, 57 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Apache SkyWalking leads on adoption by 1,606% (24,988 vs 1,465 stars). Apache SkyWalking is written in Java under Apache-2.0; qtap is written in C under Apache-2.0. Apache SkyWalking has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, qtap 4%. qtap was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (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 | qtap | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | C |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 57 |
| 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 qtap if
- You want the qtap 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 qtap fits your workflow better
About Apache SkyWalking
Apache SkyWalking ========== SkyWalking : an APM (Application Performance Monitoring) system, especially designed for microservices, cloud native and container based architectures. Abstract SkyWalking is an open source APM system that provides monitoring, tracing and diagnosing capabilities for distributed systems in Cloud Native architectures. Distributed Tracing End to end distributed tracing. Service topology analysis, service centric observability and APIs dashboards. Agents for your stack Java, .Net Core, PHP, NodeJS, Golang, LUA, Rust, C++, Client JavaScript and Python agents with active development and…
read the full Apache SkyWalking overview →
About qtap
An eBPF agent that captures traffic flowing through the Linux kernel. By attaching to TLS/SSL functions, data is intercepted before and after encryption and then passed to flexible plugins with full visibility along with all of the available context process/container/host/user/protocol/etc. Qtap makes it possible to understand what's happening with your egress traffic, without modifying apps, installing proxies, or managing certs. Qtap shows you exactly what data is being sent and received in its original, unencrypted form while operating out of band with minimal overhead, without adding latency or disrupting…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Apache SkyWalking or qtap more popular?
Apache SkyWalking has 24,988 GitHub stars and qtap has 1,465. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community by that measure.
Are Apache SkyWalking and qtap free?
Both are open source. Apache SkyWalking is licensed under Apache-2.0 and qtap under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Apache SkyWalking and qtap?
Apache SkyWalking is written in Java and qtap 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 qtap?
Choose Apache SkyWalking if you want the larger community (24,988 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose qtap if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.