# sink vs Apache SkyWalking

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

| | sink | Apache SkyWalking |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 68/100 | 76/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #5 of 23 in URL Shortener | #2 of 9 in Application Performance Monitoring |
| GitHub stars | 7 243 | 24 978 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +84 ✓ | +4 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 13 ✓ | 3 |
| Latest release | v0.3.1 · 27 Sept 2026 ✓ | v11.0.0 · 28 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Java |

## Which one should you pick?

Apache SkyWalking scores 76/100 against 68/100 for sink, so it is the safer default.

sink ships more often: 13 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Apache SkyWalking.

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

sink is growing faster right now (+84 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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