head to head · open source
NetData vs viztracer
NetData has 81,255 GitHub stars, 6,717 forks, 393 open issues and last shipped yesterday. viztracer has 7,772 stars, 480 forks, 33 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. NetData leads on adoption by 945% (81,255 vs 7,772 stars). NetData is written in Go under GPL-3.0; viztracer is written in Python under Apache-2.0. NetData has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, viztracer 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 | viztracer | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 7.8K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-09-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.7K | ⑂ 480 |
| 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 viztracer if
- You want the viztracer feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and viztracer 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 viztracer
VizTracer VizTracer is a low overhead logging/debugging/profiling tool that can trace and visualize your python code execution. The front end UI is powered by Perfetto. Use "AWSD" to zoom/navigate . More help can be found in "Support Controls". Highlights Detailed function entry/exit information on timeline with source code Super easy to use, no source code change for most features, no package dependency Low overhead, probably the fastest tracer in the market Supports threading, multiprocessing, subprocess, async and PyTorch Powerful front end, able to render GB level trace smoothly Works on Linux/MacOS/Windows…
read the full viztracer overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NetData or viztracer more popular?
NetData has 81,255 GitHub stars and viztracer has 7,772. NetData has the larger community by that measure.
Are NetData and viztracer free?
Both are open source. NetData is licensed under GPL-3.0 and viztracer under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between NetData and viztracer?
NetData is written in Go and viztracer in Python. 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 viztracer?
Choose NetData if you want the larger community (81,255 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose viztracer if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.