head to head · open source
Vector vs ktop
Vector has 22,799 GitHub stars, 2,370 forks, 2,512 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ktop has 1,116 stars, 25 forks, 11 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. Vector leads on adoption by 1,943% (22,799 vs 1,116 stars). Vector is written in Rust under MPL-2.0; ktop is written in Go under Apache-2.0. Vector has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, ktop 2%. Vector was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (metrics), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| Vector | ktop | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 23K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Rust | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-07-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 25 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Vector if
- You weight community size — 23K stars and counting
- You want the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ktop if
- You want the ktop feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and ktop fits your workflow better
About Vector
Quickstart • Docs • Guides • Integrations • Chat • Download • Container Images • Rust Crate Docs What is Vector? Vector is a high performance, end to end (agent & aggregator) observability data pipeline that puts you in control of your observability data. [Collect][docs.sources], [transform][docs.transforms], and [route][docs.sinks] all your logs and metrics to any vendors you want today and any other vendors you may want tomorrow. Vector enables dramatic cost reduction, novel data enrichment, and data security where you need it, not where it is most convenient for your…
read the full Vector overview →
About ktop
A top like tool for your Kubernetes cluster. Following the tradition of Unix/Linux top tools, ktop is a tool that displays useful metrics information about nodes, pods, and other workload resources running in a Kubernetes cluster. Features Real Time Monitoring Continuously updated view of nodes, pods, and containers Drill Down Navigation Explore from cluster overview → node → pod → container logs Zero Cluster Installation Runs locally using your kubeconfig; no agents or server side components Works Anywhere kubectl Works Connects through the Kubernetes API; no direct node access required Streaming Container Logs…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Vector or ktop more popular?
Vector has 22,799 GitHub stars and ktop has 1,116. Vector has the larger community by that measure.
Are Vector and ktop free?
Both are open source. Vector is licensed under MPL-2.0 and ktop under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Vector and ktop?
Vector is written in Rust and ktop in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Vector or ktop?
Choose Vector if you want the larger community (22,799 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose ktop if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.