head to head · open source
monolog vs Pulse
monolog has 21,402 GitHub stars, 1,920 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Pulse has 7,253 stars, 380 forks, 46 open issues and last shipped 25 days ago. monolog leads on adoption by 195% (21,402 vs 7,253 stars). monolog is written in PHP under MIT; Pulse is written in Swift under MIT. monolog has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Pulse 5%. 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 | Pulse | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 21K | ★ 7.3K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | PHP | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-10-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 380 |
| 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 Pulse if
- You want the Pulse feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and Pulse fits your workflow better
About monolog
Monolog Logging for PHP Note This is the documentation for Monolog 3.x , if you are using older releases see the documentation for Monolog 2.x or Monolog 1.x Monolog sends your logs to files, sockets, inboxes, databases and various web services. See the complete list of handlers below. Special handlers allow you to build advanced logging strategies. This library implements the PSR 3 interface that you can type hint against in your own libraries to keep a maximum of interoperability. You can also use it in your applications to make sure you can always use another compatible logger at a later time. As of 1.11.0…
read the full monolog overview →
About Pulse
Pulse is a powerful logging system for Apple Platforms. Native. Built with SwiftUI. Record and inspect logs and URLSession network requests right from your iOS app. Share logs and view them in Pulse Pro or use remote logging to see them in real time. Logs are stored locally and never leave your devices. About Pulse is not just a tool, it's a framework. It records events from URLSession or from frameworks that use it, such as Alamofire or Get, and displays them using PulseUI views that you integrate directly into your app. This way Pulse console is available for everyone who has your test builds. You or your QA…
read the full Pulse overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is monolog or Pulse more popular?
monolog has 21,402 GitHub stars and Pulse has 7,253. monolog has the larger community by that measure.
Are monolog and Pulse free?
Both are open source. monolog is licensed under MIT and Pulse under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between monolog and Pulse?
monolog is written in PHP and Pulse in Swift. 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 Pulse?
Choose monolog if you want the larger community (21,402 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Pulse if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.