Fluentd vs Apache SkyWalking

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted monitoring & status options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureFluentdApache SkyWalking
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageRubyJava
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM128 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, binarydocker, kubernetes, helm
GitHub stars★ 13,576★ 24,915
First released20112015
ReplacesLogstashNew Relic, Datadog

Why pick each one

Choose Fluentd if…

  • Huge plugin ecosystem
  • Proven at scale
Fluentd details

Choose Apache SkyWalking if…

  • Full observability suite
  • Strong Apache governance
Apache SkyWalking details

Frequently asked questions

Is Fluentd or Apache SkyWalking better?

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

Are Fluentd and Apache SkyWalking free and open-source?

Yes. Fluentd 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 Fluentd and Apache SkyWalking with Docker?

Fluentd: yes. Apache SkyWalking: yes.

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