head to head · open source
Prometheus vs sh
Prometheus has 66,109 GitHub stars, 10,839 forks, 890 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. sh has 3,151 stars, 1,013 forks, 80 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Prometheus leads on adoption by 1,998% (66,109 vs 3,151 stars). Prometheus is written in Go under Apache-2.0; sh is written in Shell under Apache-2.0. Prometheus has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, sh 32%. sh 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.
← all 13541 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Prometheus | sh | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 3.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| 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 sh if
- You want the sh feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and sh 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 sh
kejilion.sh is an all in one Linux management script — a root level Shell toolbox for VPS owners, self hosters and administrators that gathers system monitoring, Docker management, LDNMP site deployment, backups and site protection into one interactive tool.
More in Infrastructure & Operations
Related comparisons
More Databases projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Databases field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Prometheus or sh more popular?
Prometheus has 66,109 GitHub stars and sh has 3,151. Prometheus has the larger community by that measure.
Are Prometheus and sh free?
Both are open source. Prometheus is licensed under Apache-2.0 and sh under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Prometheus and sh?
Prometheus is written in Go and sh in Shell. 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 sh?
Choose Prometheus if you want the larger community (66,109 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose sh if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.