Apache KafkavsApache SkyWalking
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Apache Kafka | Apache SkyWalking | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 | 76/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 12 in Message Broker | #2 of 9 in Application Performance Monitoring |
| GitHub stars | 34 096 | 24 978 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +271 | +4 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 3 |
| Latest release | — | v11.0.0 · 28 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Java | Java |
Which one should you pick?
Apache Kafka scores 83/100 against 76/100 for Apache SkyWalking, so it is the safer default.
Apache SkyWalking ships more often: 3 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Apache Kafka.
Apache Kafka is growing faster right now (+271 stars in 30 days).
Apache Kafka details →Apache SkyWalking details →