Druid vs Apache SkyWalking

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

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FeatureDruidApache SkyWalking
CategoryWeb AnalyticsMonitoring & Status
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageJavaJava
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM512 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdockerdocker, kubernetes, helm
GitHub stars★ 14,042★ 24,915
First released20262015
ReplacesNew Relic, Datadog

Why pick each one

Choose Druid if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 14k GitHub stars
  • Written in Java
Druid details

Choose Apache SkyWalking if…

  • Full observability suite
  • Strong Apache governance
Apache SkyWalking details

Frequently asked questions

Is Druid or Apache SkyWalking better?

Neither is universally better. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community, while Druid is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Druid and Apache SkyWalking free and open-source?

Yes. Druid is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Apache SkyWalking under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Druid and Apache SkyWalking with Docker?

Druid: yes. Apache SkyWalking: yes.

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