head to head · open source
NetData vs rsyslog
NetData has 81,255 GitHub stars, 6,717 forks, 393 open issues and last shipped yesterday. rsyslog has 2,345 stars, 743 forks, 207 open issues and last shipped yesterday. NetData leads on adoption by 3,365% (81,255 vs 2,345 stars). NetData is written in Go under GPL-3.0; rsyslog is written in C under LGPL-3.0. NetData has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, rsyslog 32%. 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 | rsyslog | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | LGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | C |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.7K | ⑂ 743 |
| 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 rsyslog if
- You want the rsyslog feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and rsyslog 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 rsyslog
Rsyslog – What Is It? Rsyslog is a r ocket fast sys tem for log processing pipelines. It offers high performance, advanced security features, and a modular microkernel like architecture . Originally a regular syslogd, rsyslog has evolved into a highly versatile logging solution capable of ingesting data from numerous sources, transforming it, and outputting it to a wide variety of destinations. Rsyslog can deliver over one million messages per second to local destinations under minimal processing (based on v7, Dec 2013). Even with complex routing and remote forwarding, performance remains excellent. Table of…
read the full rsyslog overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NetData or rsyslog more popular?
NetData has 81,255 GitHub stars and rsyslog has 2,345. NetData has the larger community by that measure.
Are NetData and rsyslog free?
Both are open source. NetData is licensed under GPL-3.0 and rsyslog under LGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between NetData and rsyslog?
NetData is written in Go and rsyslog 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 rsyslog?
Choose NetData if you want the larger community (81,255 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose rsyslog if its feature set, stack or LGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.