head to head · open source
NetData vs logchef
NetData has 80,564 GitHub stars, 6,630 forks, 393 open issues and last shipped yesterday. logchef has 899 stars, 57 forks, 9 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. NetData leads on adoption by 8,862% (80,564 vs 899 stars). NetData is written in Go under GPL-3.0; logchef is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. NetData has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, logchef 6%. 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 | logchef | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 899 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 57 |
| 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 logchef if
- You want the logchef feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and logchef 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 logchef
Logchef is a lightweight, self hosted log analytics and observability interface for ClickHouse and VictoriaLogs, shipped as a single Go binary under the AGPL 3.0 licence, intended for teams that want a strong query and control plane on top of the log backends they already run.
read the full logchef overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NetData or logchef more popular?
NetData has 80,564 GitHub stars and logchef has 899. NetData has the larger community by that measure.
Are NetData and logchef free?
Both are open source. NetData is licensed under GPL-3.0 and logchef under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between NetData and logchef?
NetData is written in Go and logchef in Go. 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 logchef?
Choose NetData if you want the larger community (80,564 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose logchef if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.