head to head · open source
NetData vs g3log
NetData has 80,564 GitHub stars, 6,630 forks, 393 open issues and last shipped yesterday. g3log has 964 stars, 280 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 15 days ago. NetData leads on adoption by 8,257% (80,564 vs 964 stars). NetData is written in Go under GPL-3.0; g3log is written in C++ under Unlicense. NetData has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, g3log 29%. 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 | g3log | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 964 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Unlicense |
| Written in | Go | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 280 |
| 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 g3log if
- You want the g3log feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Unlicense license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and g3log 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 g3log
G3log is an asynchronous, crash safe C++ logging library for OSX, Windows, and several Linux distributions, aimed at C++ developers building critical task systems that must not lose log records when a process dies.
read the full g3log overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NetData or g3log more popular?
NetData has 80,564 GitHub stars and g3log has 964. NetData has the larger community by that measure.
Are NetData and g3log free?
Both are open source. NetData is licensed under GPL-3.0 and g3log under Unlicense. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between NetData and g3log?
NetData is written in Go and g3log 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, NetData or g3log?
Choose NetData if you want the larger community (80,564 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose g3log if its feature set, stack or Unlicense licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.