head to head · open source
NetData vs Logstash
NetData has 80,561 GitHub stars, 6,630 forks, 393 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Logstash has 14,944 stars, 3,496 forks, 2,254 open issues and last shipped yesterday. NetData leads on adoption by 439% (80,561 vs 14,944 stars). NetData is written in Go under GPL-3.0; Logstash is written in Java under a custom or non-standard licence. NetData has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Logstash 23%. NetData was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| NetData | Logstash | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 15K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Go | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 3.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick NetData if
- You weight community size — 81K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Logstash if
- You want the Logstash feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and Logstash fits your workflow better
About NetData
Netdata is an open source, real time infrastructure monitoring platform written in Go and released under GPL 3.0, built for operators and lean teams who need per second visibility across Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, and Windows systems.
read the full NetData overview →
About Logstash
Logstash is a server side data processing pipeline that transports and processes logs, events, or other data. It is part of the Elastic Stack with Beats, Elasticsearch, and Kibana, and it sits in the Infrastructure & Operations / Monitoring & Observability category. The project uses Java and JRuby, and its topics describe it as an ETL framework for logging, real time processing, and streaming.
read the full Logstash overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NetData or Logstash more popular?
NetData has 80,561 GitHub stars and Logstash has 14,944. NetData has the larger community by that measure.
Are NetData and Logstash free?
Both are open source. NetData is licensed under GPL-3.0, and Logstash has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between NetData and Logstash?
NetData is written in Go and Logstash 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, NetData or Logstash?
Choose NetData if you want the larger community (80,561 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Logstash if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.