head to head · open source
NetData vs dd-trace-java
NetData has 80,564 GitHub stars, 6,630 forks, 393 open issues and last shipped today. dd-trace-java has 737 stars, 360 forks, 478 open issues and last shipped today. NetData leads on adoption by 10,831% (80,564 vs 737 stars). NetData is written in Go under GPL-3.0; dd-trace-java is written in Java under Apache-2.0. NetData has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, dd-trace-java 49%. dd-trace-java 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 | dd-trace-java | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 737 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 360 |
| 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 dd-trace-java if
- You want the dd-trace-java feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and dd-trace-java 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 dd-trace-java
Datadog Java APM This repository contains dd trace java , Datadog's APM client Java library. dd trace java contains APIs to automatically or manually trace and profile Java applications. These features power Distributed Tracing with Automatic Instrumentation, Continuous Profiling, Error Tracking, Continuous Integration Visibility, Deployment Tracking, Code Hotspots and more. Getting Started To use and configure, check out the [setup documentation][setup docs]. For advanced usage, check out the [configuration reference][configuration reference] and [custom instrumentation API][api docs]. Confused about the termino…
read the full dd-trace-java overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NetData or dd-trace-java more popular?
NetData has 80,564 GitHub stars and dd-trace-java has 737. NetData has the larger community by that measure.
Are NetData and dd-trace-java free?
Both are open source. NetData is licensed under GPL-3.0 and dd-trace-java under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between NetData and dd-trace-java?
NetData is written in Go and dd-trace-java 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 dd-trace-java?
Choose NetData if you want the larger community (80,564 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose dd-trace-java if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.