OpenNMS Horizon 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?
OpenNMS Horizon
Enterprise network management and monitoring platform
VS
Apache SkyWalking
APM and observability for cloud-native architectures
| Feature | OpenNMS Horizon | Apache SkyWalking |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,168 | ★ 24,915 |
| First released | 2000 | 2015 |
| Replaces | SolarWinds, PRTG | New Relic, Datadog |
Why pick each one
Choose OpenNMS Horizon if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Java
Choose Apache SkyWalking if…
- Full observability suite
- Strong Apache governance
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenNMS Horizon or Apache SkyWalking better?
Neither is universally better. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are OpenNMS Horizon and Apache SkyWalking free and open-source?
Yes. OpenNMS Horizon is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Apache SkyWalking under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenNMS Horizon and Apache SkyWalking with Docker?
OpenNMS Horizon: yes. Apache SkyWalking: yes.