head to head · open source
Apache SkyWalking vs whisper
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars, 6,633 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. whisper has 1,261 stars, 322 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped 10 months ago. Apache SkyWalking leads on adoption by 1,879% (24,958 vs 1,261 stars). Apache SkyWalking is written in Java under Apache-2.0; whisper is written in Python under Apache-2.0. Apache SkyWalking has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, whisper 26%. 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 (metrics), 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 | whisper | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2025-12-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 322 |
| 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 whisper if
- You want the whisper 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 whisper 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 whisper
Whisper is the file based time series database library at the storage layer of Graphite, built for operators and developers who need to record numeric metrics over time as plain files on disk rather than in a separate database server.
read the full whisper overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Apache SkyWalking or whisper more popular?
Apache SkyWalking has 24,958 GitHub stars and whisper has 1,261. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community by that measure.
Are Apache SkyWalking and whisper free?
Both are open source. Apache SkyWalking is licensed under Apache-2.0 and whisper under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Apache SkyWalking and whisper?
Apache SkyWalking is written in Java and whisper 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 whisper?
Choose Apache SkyWalking if you want the larger community (24,958 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose whisper if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.