head to head · open source
Apache SkyWalking vs rsyslog
Apache SkyWalking has 24,988 GitHub stars, 6,632 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. rsyslog has 2,347 stars, 745 forks, 207 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Apache SkyWalking leads on adoption by 965% (24,988 vs 2,347 stars). Apache SkyWalking is written in Java under Apache-2.0; rsyslog is written in C under LGPL-3.0. Apache SkyWalking has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, rsyslog 32%. rsyslog 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 | rsyslog | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | LGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | C |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 745 |
| 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 rsyslog if
- You want the rsyslog feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and rsyslog 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 rsyslog
Rsyslog – What Is It? Rsyslog is a r ocket fast sys tem for log processing pipelines. It offers high performance, advanced security features, and a modular microkernel like architecture . Originally a regular syslogd, rsyslog has evolved into a highly versatile logging solution capable of ingesting data from numerous sources, transforming it, and outputting it to a wide variety of destinations. Rsyslog can deliver over one million messages per second to local destinations under minimal processing (based on v7, Dec 2013). Even with complex routing and remote forwarding, performance remains excellent. Table of…
read the full rsyslog overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Apache SkyWalking or rsyslog more popular?
Apache SkyWalking has 24,988 GitHub stars and rsyslog has 2,347. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community by that measure.
Are Apache SkyWalking and rsyslog free?
Both are open source. Apache SkyWalking is licensed under Apache-2.0 and rsyslog under LGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Apache SkyWalking and rsyslog?
Apache SkyWalking is written in Java and rsyslog 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 rsyslog?
Choose Apache SkyWalking if you want the larger community (24,988 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose rsyslog if its feature set, stack or LGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.