Apache SkyWalkingvsSteward
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Apache SkyWalking | Steward | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 76/100 | 46/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 9 in Application Performance Monitoring | #2 of 2 in Cloud |
| GitHub stars | 24 977 | 201 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +3 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 6 |
| Latest release | v11.0.0 · 28 Aug 2026 | v0.4.0 · 4 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Java | Go |
Which one should you pick?
Apache SkyWalking scores 76/100 against 46/100 for Steward, so it is the safer default.
Steward ships more often: 6 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Apache SkyWalking.
If you want the quickest setup, Steward is easier to run; Apache SkyWalking needs more configuration.
Apache SkyWalking is growing faster right now (+3 stars in 30 days).
Apache SkyWalking details →Steward details →
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