head to head · open source
Uptime Kuma vs skywalking-java
Uptime Kuma has 91,498 GitHub stars, 8,431 forks, 805 open issues and last shipped yesterday. skywalking-java has 925 stars, 691 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Uptime Kuma leads on adoption by 9,792% (91,498 vs 925 stars). Uptime Kuma is written in JavaScript under MIT; skywalking-java is written in Java under Apache-2.0. Uptime Kuma has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, skywalking-java 75%. Uptime Kuma 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
| Uptime Kuma | skywalking-java | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 91K | ★ 925 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.4K | ⑂ 691 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Uptime Kuma if
- You weight community size — 91K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick skywalking-java if
- You want the skywalking-java 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 skywalking-java fits your workflow better
About Uptime Kuma
Uptime Kuma is a free, MIT licensed, self hosted monitoring tool with a reactive web dashboard, built for operators and teams that want to watch their own HTTP, TCP, and DNS endpoints and keep the resulting data on their own infrastructure.
read the full Uptime Kuma overview →
About skywalking-java
skywalking java is the Java agent for Apache SkyWalking, aimed at teams that run Java microservices on cloud native, container based architectures and need native tracing, metrics, and logging for their projects.
read the full skywalking-java overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Uptime Kuma or skywalking-java more popular?
Uptime Kuma has 91,498 GitHub stars and skywalking-java has 925. Uptime Kuma has the larger community by that measure.
Are Uptime Kuma and skywalking-java free?
Both are open source. Uptime Kuma is licensed under MIT and skywalking-java under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Uptime Kuma and skywalking-java?
Uptime Kuma is written in JavaScript and skywalking-java 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, Uptime Kuma or skywalking-java?
Choose Uptime Kuma if you want the larger community (91,498 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose skywalking-java if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.