# LXD vs Apache SkyWalking

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | LXD | Apache SkyWalking |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 70/100 | 76/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #3 of 15 in Virtualization | #2 of 9 in Application Performance Monitoring |
| GitHub stars | 4 844 | 24 978 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +13 ✓ | +4 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 20 ✓ | 3 |
| Latest release | lxd-5.21.9 · 29 Oct 2026 ✓ | v11.0.0 · 28 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Java |

## Which one should you pick?

Apache SkyWalking scores 76/100 against 70/100 for LXD, so it is the safer default.

LXD ships more often: 20 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Apache SkyWalking.

If you want the quickest setup, LXD is easier to run; Apache SkyWalking needs more configuration.

LXD is growing faster right now (+13 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [LXD](https://selfhost.directory/project/lxd) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/lxd.md)
- [Apache SkyWalking](https://selfhost.directory/project/skywalking) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/skywalking.md)

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/lxd-vs-skywalking