head to head · open source
monolog vs logging-log4net
monolog has 21,405 GitHub stars, 1,910 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped yesterday. logging-log4net has 934 stars, 333 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped yesterday. monolog leads on adoption by 2,192% (21,405 vs 934 stars). monolog is written in PHP under MIT; logging-log4net is written in C# under Apache-2.0. monolog has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, logging-log4net 36%. monolog was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (logger, 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
| monolog | logging-log4net | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 21K | ★ 934 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | PHP | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 333 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick monolog if
- You weight community size — 21K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick logging-log4net if
- You want the logging-log4net feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and logging-log4net fits your workflow better
About monolog
Monolog is a logging library for PHP that sends log records to files, sockets, inboxes, databases, and various web services. It ships with the handlers, formatters, and processors needed to route records where they belong, and special handlers allow more advanced logging strategies than a single output stream. The library lives in the PHP ecosystem and is distributed through Packagist as monolog/monolog . It is released under the MIT license and has been developed for sixteen years, with more than twenty one thousand stars and roughly nineteen hundred forks on GitHub.
read the full monolog overview →
About logging-log4net
Apache log4net is a versatile, feature rich logging API and backend for .NET, distributed as the NuGet package log4net and developed as a subproject of the Apache Logging Services project — a fit for .NET developers and platform teams that need a stable, Apache licensed logging library rather than a commercial or single vendor offering.
read the full logging-log4net overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is monolog or logging-log4net more popular?
monolog has 21,405 GitHub stars and logging-log4net has 934. monolog has the larger community by that measure.
Are monolog and logging-log4net free?
Both are open source. monolog is licensed under MIT and logging-log4net under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between monolog and logging-log4net?
monolog is written in PHP and logging-log4net in C#. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, monolog or logging-log4net?
Choose monolog if you want the larger community (21,405 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose logging-log4net if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.