head to head · open source
Apache SkyWalking vs skywalking-java
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars, 6,633 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. skywalking-java has 925 stars, 691 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Apache SkyWalking leads on adoption by 2,598% (24,958 vs 925 stars). Apache SkyWalking is written in Java under Apache-2.0; skywalking-java is written in Java under Apache-2.0. Apache SkyWalking has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, skywalking-java 75%. skywalking-java was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 7 topic tags (apm, dapper, distributed-tracing, 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 | skywalking-java | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 925 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 691 |
| 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 skywalking-java if
- You want the skywalking-java feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and skywalking-java 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 skywalking-java
skywalking java is the Java agent for Apache SkyWalking, aimed at teams that run Java microservices on cloud native, container based architectures and need native tracing, metrics, and logging for their projects.
read the full skywalking-java overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Apache SkyWalking or skywalking-java more popular?
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars and skywalking-java has 925. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community by that measure.
Are Apache SkyWalking and skywalking-java free?
Both are open source. Apache SkyWalking is licensed under Apache-2.0 and skywalking-java under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Apache SkyWalking and skywalking-java?
Apache SkyWalking is written in Java and skywalking-java in Java. 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 skywalking-java?
Choose Apache SkyWalking if you want the larger community (24,958 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose skywalking-java if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.