Hertzbeat 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.
| Feature | Hertzbeat | Apache SkyWalking |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 97 · Excellent |
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,405 | ★ 24,962 |
| First released | 2022 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Zabbix, Datadog | New Relic, Datadog |
What are Hertzbeat and Apache SkyWalking?
Hertzbeat
HertzBeat is an open-source real-time monitoring system that checks websites, APIs, databases, servers, and more using customizable YAML templates. It includes alerting and a friendly dashboard with no agents required.
- Agentless monitoring
- Customizable YAML templates
- Threshold alerting
- Built-in dashboards
Apache SkyWalking
Apache SkyWalking is an APM and observability platform for distributed systems, especially microservices and cloud-native architectures. It provides tracing, metrics, logging, and service topology analysis.
- Distributed tracing and metrics
- Service topology maps
- eBPF and OTel integration
- Alerting engine
Hertzbeat vs Apache SkyWalking: key differences
Both projects are written in Java. Hertzbeat is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Apache SkyWalking. Apache SkyWalking is the more established project (first released 2015), while Hertzbeat arrived in 2022. Apache SkyWalking has the considerably larger community, at 24,962 GitHub stars versus 7,405.
Why pick each one
Choose Hertzbeat if…
- No agents to deploy
- Flexible templates
Watch out for
- JVM resource needs
- Newer project
Choose Apache SkyWalking if…
- Full observability suite
- Strong Apache governance
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Storage backend required
Frequently asked questions
Is Hertzbeat or Apache SkyWalking better?
Neither is universally better. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community, while Hertzbeat is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Hertzbeat and Apache SkyWalking free and open-source?
Yes. Hertzbeat 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 Hertzbeat and Apache SkyWalking with Docker?
Hertzbeat: yes. Apache SkyWalking: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Hertzbeat or Apache SkyWalking?
Hertzbeat has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Apache SkyWalking. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.