Glances 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?
FeatureGlancesApache SkyWalking
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseLGPL-3.0Apache-2.0
LanguagePythonJava
Setup difficultyEasyHard
Min. RAM128 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, binarydocker, kubernetes, helm
GitHub stars★ 33,269★ 24,915
First released20122015
ReplacesDatadogNew Relic, Datadog

Why pick each one

Choose Glances if…

  • Very easy to run
  • Lightweight
  • Good single-host overview
Glances details

Choose Apache SkyWalking if…

  • Full observability suite
  • Strong Apache governance
Apache SkyWalking details

Frequently asked questions

Is Glances or Apache SkyWalking better?

Glances is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Apache SkyWalking if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Glances and Apache SkyWalking free and open-source?

Yes. Glances is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and Apache SkyWalking under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Glances and Apache SkyWalking with Docker?

Glances: yes. Apache SkyWalking: yes.

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