head to head · open source
NetData vs databuff
NetData has 81,255 GitHub stars, 6,717 forks, 393 open issues and last shipped yesterday. databuff has 720 stars, 144 forks, 11 open issues and last shipped 28 days ago. NetData leads on adoption by 11,185% (81,255 vs 720 stars). NetData is written in Go under GPL-3.0; databuff is written in Java under AGPL-3.0. NetData has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, databuff 20%. NetData was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (devops), 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
| NetData | databuff | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 720 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.7K | ⑂ 144 |
| 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 databuff if
- You want the databuff feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and databuff 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 databuff
DataBuff — AI Native APM Built On Opentelemetry Mission: build the strongest OpenTelemetry APM backend AI native · OTLP native · multi agent out of the box · self hosted traces, metrics, topology Live Demo · Documentation · Open Source APM · 简体中文 · Community AI multi agent troubleshooting · Service health · Call graph topology Keywords : AI Native APM · OpenTelemetry APM · OTLP Backend · Multi Agent · Distributed Tracing · AIOps · Open Source APM · MCP · Self Hosted Observability What is DataBuff DataBuff is an AI native APM backend built on Opentelemetry — ingest traces, metrics, and logs via OTLP, with full…
read the full databuff overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NetData or databuff more popular?
NetData has 81,255 GitHub stars and databuff has 720. NetData has the larger community by that measure.
Are NetData and databuff free?
Both are open source. NetData is licensed under GPL-3.0 and databuff under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between NetData and databuff?
NetData is written in Go and databuff 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 databuff?
Choose NetData if you want the larger community (81,255 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose databuff if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.