Sampler Dashboard 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.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureSampler DashboardApache SkyWalking
CategoryDashboards & StartpagesMonitoring & Status
LicenseGPL-3.0Apache-2.0
LanguageGoJava
Setup difficultyEasyHard
Min. RAM64 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, binarydocker, kubernetes, helm
GitHub stars★ 14,727★ 24,915
First released20192015
ReplacesGrafanaNew Relic, Datadog

Why pick each one

Choose Sampler Dashboard if…

  • Runs in a terminal
  • No web stack needed
Sampler Dashboard details

Choose Apache SkyWalking if…

  • Full observability suite
  • Strong Apache governance
Apache SkyWalking details

Frequently asked questions

Is Sampler Dashboard or Apache SkyWalking better?

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

Are Sampler Dashboard and Apache SkyWalking free and open-source?

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

Can I run Sampler Dashboard and Apache SkyWalking with Docker?

Sampler Dashboard: check the project docs for container support. Apache SkyWalking: yes.

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