OpenSearch 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?
FeatureOpenSearchApache SkyWalking
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageJavaJava
Setup difficultyHardHard
Min. RAM2,048 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, helmdocker, kubernetes, helm
GitHub stars★ 13,480★ 24,915
First released20212015
ReplacesElasticsearch, SplunkNew Relic, Datadog

Why pick each one

Choose OpenSearch if…

  • Truly open-source license
  • Rich analytics features
OpenSearch details

Choose Apache SkyWalking if…

  • Full observability suite
  • Strong Apache governance
Apache SkyWalking details

Frequently asked questions

Is OpenSearch 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 OpenSearch and Apache SkyWalking free and open-source?

Yes. OpenSearch 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 OpenSearch and Apache SkyWalking with Docker?

OpenSearch: yes. Apache SkyWalking: yes.

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