head to head · open source
NetData vs jmx_exporter
NetData has 80,564 GitHub stars, 6,630 forks, 393 open issues and last shipped yesterday. jmx_exporter has 3,329 stars, 1,226 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped yesterday. NetData leads on adoption by 2,320% (80,564 vs 3,329 stars). NetData is written in Go under GPL-3.0; jmx_exporter is written in Java under Apache-2.0. NetData has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, jmx_exporter 37%. jmx_exporter 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 | jmx_exporter | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 3.3K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 1.2K |
| 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 jmx_exporter if
- You want the jmx_exporter 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 jmx_exporter 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 jmx_exporter
jmx exporter is a Java collector published under the Prometheus organisation that reads JMX MBean values and turns them into metrics Prometheus can consume, aimed at Java operators and Prometheus users who need visibility into JVM and application internals that are exposed only over JMX.
read the full jmx_exporter overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NetData or jmx_exporter more popular?
NetData has 80,564 GitHub stars and jmx_exporter has 3,329. NetData has the larger community by that measure.
Are NetData and jmx_exporter free?
Both are open source. NetData is licensed under GPL-3.0 and jmx_exporter under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between NetData and jmx_exporter?
NetData is written in Go and jmx_exporter 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 jmx_exporter?
Choose NetData if you want the larger community (80,564 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose jmx_exporter if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.