# Apache SkyWalking vs vanilla-cookbook

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

| | Apache SkyWalking | vanilla-cookbook |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 76/100 ✓ | 46/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 9 in Application Performance Monitoring | #13 of 18 in Recipe Management |
| GitHub stars | 24 978 ✓ | 158 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +4 ✓ | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 13 ✓ |
| Latest release | v11.0.0 · 28 Aug 2026 | v1.6.1 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Java | JavaScript |

## Which one should you pick?

Apache SkyWalking scores 76/100 against 46/100 for vanilla-cookbook, so it is the safer default.

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

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

Apache SkyWalking is growing faster right now (+4 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/skywalking-vs-vanilla-cookbook