head to head · open source
Apache SkyWalking vs tapir
Apache SkyWalking has 24,988 GitHub stars, 6,632 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. tapir has 1,476 stars, 473 forks, 173 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Apache SkyWalking leads on adoption by 1,593% (24,988 vs 1,476 stars). Apache SkyWalking is written in Java under Apache-2.0; tapir is written in Scala under Apache-2.0. Apache SkyWalking has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, tapir 32%. 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 (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 | tapir | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Scala |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 473 |
| 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 tapir if
- You want the tapir feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Scala
- You evaluated both and tapir 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 tapir
Welcome! Intro Tapir is a library to describe HTTP APIs, expose them as a server, consume as a client, and automatically document using open standards. Tapir is fast and developer friendly. The endpoint definition APIs are crafted with readability and discoverability in mind. Our Netty based server is one of the best performing Scala HTTP servers available. Tapir integrates with all major Scala stacks, so you can use your favorite approach to Functional Programming, while leveraging all the benefits that Tapir brings! Seamless integration with the Scala and HTTP ecosystems is one of Tapir's major strengths: all…
read the full tapir overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Apache SkyWalking or tapir more popular?
Apache SkyWalking has 24,988 GitHub stars and tapir has 1,476. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community by that measure.
Are Apache SkyWalking and tapir free?
Both are open source. Apache SkyWalking is licensed under Apache-2.0 and tapir under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Apache SkyWalking and tapir?
Apache SkyWalking is written in Java and tapir in Scala. 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 tapir?
Choose Apache SkyWalking if you want the larger community (24,988 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose tapir if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.