head to head · open source
Apache SkyWalking vs viztracer
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars, 6,633 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. viztracer has 7,746 stars, 475 forks, 33 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Apache SkyWalking leads on adoption by 222% (24,958 vs 7,746 stars). Apache SkyWalking is written in Java under Apache-2.0; viztracer is written in Python under Apache-2.0. Apache SkyWalking has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, viztracer 6%. viztracer 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 | viztracer | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 7.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 475 |
| 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 viztracer if
- You want the viztracer feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and viztracer 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 viztracer
VizTracer is a low overhead Python tracing, debugging and profiling tool that records code execution and renders it as an interactive timeline with source code, built for Python developers who need to see what their scripts, threads, subprocesses, async tasks and PyTorch calls are actually doing.
read the full viztracer overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Apache SkyWalking or viztracer more popular?
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars and viztracer has 7,746. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community by that measure.
Are Apache SkyWalking and viztracer free?
Both are open source. Apache SkyWalking is licensed under Apache-2.0 and viztracer under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Apache SkyWalking and viztracer?
Apache SkyWalking is written in Java and viztracer in Python. 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 viztracer?
Choose Apache SkyWalking if you want the larger community (24,958 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose viztracer if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.