Jaeger 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 | Jaeger | Apache SkyWalking |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 97 · Excellent | 97 · Excellent |
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 23,234 | ★ 24,962 |
| First released | 2017 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Datadog APM, New Relic | New Relic, Datadog |
What are Jaeger and Apache SkyWalking?
Jaeger
Jaeger is a distributed tracing system used to monitor and troubleshoot transactions in complex microservice architectures. It supports trace collection, sampling, and root-cause analysis through a rich UI.
- Distributed transaction tracing
- Service dependency graphs
- Adaptive sampling
- OpenTelemetry compatible
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
Jaeger vs Apache SkyWalking: key differences
Jaeger is written in Go, while Apache SkyWalking is built with Java. Jaeger is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Apache SkyWalking. Apache SkyWalking is the more established project (first released 2015), while Jaeger arrived in 2017.
Why pick each one
Choose Jaeger if…
- CNCF graduated project
- Mature and widely adopted
Watch out for
- Storage backend required
- Focused only on traces
Choose Apache SkyWalking if…
- Full observability suite
- Strong Apache governance
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Storage backend required
Frequently asked questions
Is Jaeger or Apache SkyWalking better?
Neither is universally better. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community, while Jaeger is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Jaeger and Apache SkyWalking free and open-source?
Yes. Jaeger 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 Jaeger and Apache SkyWalking with Docker?
Jaeger: yes. Apache SkyWalking: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Jaeger or Apache SkyWalking?
Jaeger has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Apache SkyWalking. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.