Apache SkyWalking vs VictoriaLogs

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?
FeatureApache SkyWalkingVictoriaLogs
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageJavaGo
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM2,048 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, helmdocker, kubernetes, binary
GitHub stars★ 24,915★ 2,118
First released20152023
ReplacesNew Relic, DatadogSplunk, Elasticsearch

Why pick each one

Choose Apache SkyWalking if…

  • Full observability suite
  • Strong Apache governance
Apache SkyWalking details

Choose VictoriaLogs if…

  • Very efficient on hardware
  • Fast log queries
VictoriaLogs details

Frequently asked questions

Is Apache SkyWalking or VictoriaLogs better?

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

Are Apache SkyWalking and VictoriaLogs free and open-source?

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

Can I run Apache SkyWalking and VictoriaLogs with Docker?

Apache SkyWalking: yes. VictoriaLogs: yes.

Related comparisons