head to head · open source
Prometheus vs Apache IoTDB
Prometheus has 66,106 GitHub stars, 10,840 forks, 890 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Apache IoTDB has 6,402 stars, 1,157 forks, 734 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Prometheus leads on adoption by 933% (66,106 vs 6,402 stars). Prometheus is written in Go under Apache-2.0; Apache IoTDB is written in Java under Apache-2.0. Prometheus has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, Apache IoTDB 18%. Prometheus 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
| Prometheus | Apache IoTDB | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 6.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 1.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Prometheus if
- You weight community size — 66K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Apache IoTDB if
- You want the Apache IoTDB 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 Apache IoTDB fits your workflow better
About Prometheus
Prometheus is an open source monitoring system and time series database, part of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation ecosystem. It collects metrics from configured targets at defined intervals, evaluates alerting rules, and visualizes results. Designed for reliability in dynamic environments, it operates without reliance on distributed storage, ensuring each server node functions independently.
read the full Prometheus overview →
About Apache IoTDB
Apache IoTDB is an Apache 2.0 licensed time series database written in Java that handles collection, storage, and analysis of industrial IoT time series data, built for teams that must ingest high throughput readings from very large fleets of devices and analyse them without leaving the Hadoop and Spark tooling they already run.
read the full Apache IoTDB overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Prometheus or Apache IoTDB more popular?
Prometheus has 66,106 GitHub stars and Apache IoTDB has 6,402. Prometheus has the larger community by that measure.
Are Prometheus and Apache IoTDB free?
Both are open source. Prometheus is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Apache IoTDB under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Prometheus and Apache IoTDB?
Prometheus is written in Go and Apache IoTDB 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, Prometheus or Apache IoTDB?
Choose Prometheus if you want the larger community (66,106 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Apache IoTDB if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.