NATSvsApache SkyWalking
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| NATS | Apache SkyWalking | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 | 76/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 12 in Message Broker | #2 of 9 in Application Performance Monitoring |
| GitHub stars | 20 963 | 24 978 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +198 | +4 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 18 | 3 |
| Latest release | v2.14.9 · 26 Oct 2026 | v11.0.0 · 28 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Java |
Which one should you pick?
NATS scores 80/100 against 76/100 for Apache SkyWalking, so it is the safer default.
NATS ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Apache SkyWalking.
If you want the quickest setup, NATS is easier to run; Apache SkyWalking needs more configuration.
NATS is growing faster right now (+198 stars in 30 days).
NATS details →Apache SkyWalking details →
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