Redis Exporter 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?
Redis Exporter
Prometheus exporter for Redis server and cluster metrics
VS
Apache SkyWalking
APM and observability for cloud-native architectures
| Feature | Redis Exporter | Apache SkyWalking |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, kubernetes | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,677 | ★ 24,915 |
| First released | 2015 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Datadog Redis, RedisInsight | New Relic, Datadog |
Why pick each one
Choose Redis Exporter if…
- Comprehensive metric coverage
- Easy single-binary deploy
Choose Apache SkyWalking if…
- Full observability suite
- Strong Apache governance
Frequently asked questions
Is Redis Exporter or Apache SkyWalking better?
Neither is universally better. Apache SkyWalking has the larger community, while Redis Exporter is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Redis Exporter and Apache SkyWalking free and open-source?
Yes. Redis Exporter is licensed under MIT and Apache SkyWalking under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Redis Exporter and Apache SkyWalking with Docker?
Redis Exporter: yes. Apache SkyWalking: yes.