head to head · open source
NetData vs witr
NetData has 81,255 GitHub stars, 6,717 forks, 393 open issues and last shipped yesterday. witr has 22,906 stars, 808 forks, 17 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. NetData leads on adoption by 255% (81,255 vs 22,906 stars). NetData is written in Go under GPL-3.0; witr is written in Go under Apache-2.0. NetData has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, witr 4%. NetData was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (devops, docker, kubernetes, linux), 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
| NetData | witr | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 23K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.7K | ⑂ 808 |
| 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 witr if
- You want the witr 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 witr 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 witr
witr Why is this running? Trace any process, port, container, or file back to the exact chain that started it — one command, machine readable JSON, or an interactive TUI. 🎮 Try witr in your browser → Investigate a simulated Linux box — a guided tutorial and free play sandbox, no install required. Purpose • Installation • TUI • Flags • Core Concept • Examples Output Behavior • Platforms • Success Criteria • Sponsors 1. Purpose witr exists to answer a single question: Why is this running? When something is running on a system, whether it is a process, a service, or something bound to a port, there is always a…
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Frequently asked questions
Is NetData or witr more popular?
NetData has 81,255 GitHub stars and witr has 22,906. NetData has the larger community by that measure.
Are NetData and witr free?
Both are open source. NetData is licensed under GPL-3.0 and witr under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between NetData and witr?
NetData is written in Go and witr 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, NetData or witr?
Choose NetData if you want the larger community (81,255 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose witr if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.