Sensu Go 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?
FeatureSensu GoApache SkyWalking
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguageGoJava
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM512 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, binarydocker, kubernetes, helm
GitHub stars★ 1,108★ 24,915
First released20182015
ReplacesDatadog, PagerDutyNew Relic, Datadog

Why pick each one

Choose Sensu Go if…

  • Declarative configuration
  • Flexible event pipeline
Sensu Go details

Choose Apache SkyWalking if…

  • Full observability suite
  • Strong Apache governance
Apache SkyWalking details

Frequently asked questions

Is Sensu Go or Apache SkyWalking better?

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

Are Sensu Go and Apache SkyWalking free and open-source?

Yes. Sensu Go is licensed under MIT and Apache SkyWalking under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Sensu Go and Apache SkyWalking with Docker?

Sensu Go: yes. Apache SkyWalking: yes.

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