head to head · open source
NetData vs Pulse
NetData has 81,255 GitHub stars, 6,717 forks, 393 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Pulse has 7,251 stars, 380 forks, 46 open issues and last shipped 23 days ago. NetData leads on adoption by 1,021% (81,255 vs 7,251 stars). NetData is written in Go under GPL-3.0; Pulse is written in Swift under MIT. NetData has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Pulse 5%. 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 | Pulse | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 7.3K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.7K | ⑂ 380 |
| 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 Pulse if
- You want the Pulse feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and Pulse 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 Pulse
Pulse is a powerful logging system for Apple Platforms. Native. Built with SwiftUI. Record and inspect logs and URLSession network requests right from your iOS app. Share logs and view them in Pulse Pro or use remote logging to see them in real time. Logs are stored locally and never leave your devices. About Pulse is not just a tool, it's a framework. It records events from URLSession or from frameworks that use it, such as Alamofire or Get, and displays them using PulseUI views that you integrate directly into your app. This way Pulse console is available for everyone who has your test builds. You or your QA…
read the full Pulse overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NetData or Pulse more popular?
NetData has 81,255 GitHub stars and Pulse has 7,251. NetData has the larger community by that measure.
Are NetData and Pulse free?
Both are open source. NetData is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Pulse under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between NetData and Pulse?
NetData is written in Go and Pulse in Swift. 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 Pulse?
Choose NetData if you want the larger community (81,255 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Pulse if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.