Matomo 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?
FeatureMatomoApache SkyWalking
CategoryWeb AnalyticsMonitoring & Status
LicenseGPL-3.0Apache-2.0
LanguagePHPJava
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM1,024 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, kubernetes, helm
GitHub stars★ 21,749★ 24,915
First released20072015
ReplacesGoogle AnalyticsNew Relic, Datadog

Why pick each one

Choose Matomo if…

  • Comprehensive analytics
  • Privacy-respecting
  • Mature and extensible
Matomo details

Choose Apache SkyWalking if…

  • Full observability suite
  • Strong Apache governance
Apache SkyWalking details

Frequently asked questions

Is Matomo or Apache SkyWalking better?

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

Are Matomo and Apache SkyWalking free and open-source?

Yes. Matomo 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 Matomo and Apache SkyWalking with Docker?

Matomo: yes. Apache SkyWalking: yes.

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