head to head · open source
NetData vs client_js
NetData has 81,255 GitHub stars, 6,717 forks, 393 open issues and last shipped yesterday. client_js has 3,498 stars, 431 forks, 50 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. NetData leads on adoption by 2,223% (81,255 vs 3,498 stars). NetData is written in Go under GPL-3.0; client_js is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. NetData has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, client_js 12%. 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 | client_js | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 3.5K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.7K | ⑂ 431 |
| 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 client_js if
- You want the client_js feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and client_js fits your workflow better
About NetData
X Ray Vision for your infrastructure! Every Metric, Every Second. No BS. Visit our Home Page MENU: WHO WE ARE KEY FEATURES GETTING STARTED HOW IT WORKS FAQ DOCS COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTE LICENSE [!WARNING] People get addicted to Netdata. Once you use it on your systems, there's no going back. WHO WE ARE Netdata is an open source, real time infrastructure monitoring platform. Monitor, detect, and act across your entire infrastructure. Core Advantages: Instant Insights – With Netdata you can access per second metrics and visualizations. Zero Configuration – You can deploy immediately without complex setup. ML Powered –…
read the full NetData overview →
About client_js
Prometheus client for Node.js A prometheus client for Node.js that supports histogram, summaries, gauges and counters. Installation This package was previously published as prom client . See the CHANGELOG for the breaking changes involved in upgrading. API See example folder for a sample usage. The library does not bundle any web framework. To expose the metrics, respond to Prometheus's scrape requests with the result of await registry.metrics() . Default metrics There are some default metrics recommended by Prometheus itself. To collect these, call collectDefaultMetrics . In addition, some Node.js specific…
read the full client_js overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NetData or client_js more popular?
NetData has 81,255 GitHub stars and client_js has 3,498. NetData has the larger community by that measure.
Are NetData and client_js free?
Both are open source. NetData is licensed under GPL-3.0 and client_js under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between NetData and client_js?
NetData is written in Go and client_js in JavaScript. 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 client_js?
Choose NetData if you want the larger community (81,255 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose client_js if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.