# SimpleX Chat vs Apache SkyWalking

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

| | SimpleX Chat | Apache SkyWalking |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 74/100 | 76/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #4 of 110 in Chat | #2 of 9 in Application Performance Monitoring |
| GitHub stars | 19 612 | 24 977 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +142 ✓ | +3 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 12 ✓ | 3 |
| Latest release | v7.0.4 · 3 Oct 2026 ✓ | v11.0.0 · 28 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Haskell | Java |

## Which one should you pick?

Apache SkyWalking scores 76/100 against 74/100 for SimpleX Chat, so it is the safer default.

SimpleX Chat ships more often: 12 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Apache SkyWalking.

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

SimpleX Chat is growing faster right now (+142 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [SimpleX Chat](https://selfhost.directory/project/simplex-chat) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/simplex-chat.md)
- [Apache SkyWalking](https://selfhost.directory/project/skywalking) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/skywalking.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/simplex-chat-vs-skywalking