vioscaleAI
Comparison

Apache SkyWalking vs Glowroot

No clear leader: Apache SkyWalking (52.9) and Glowroot (50.1) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Apache SkyWalking full profile →Glowroot full profile →
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Apache SkyWalking53
Glowroot50
Score
vioscaleAI score
Apache SkyWalking53 / 100medium · 55%
Glowroot50 / 100medium · 53%
Pricing
Free tier
Apache SkyWalking✓
Glowroot✓
Model
Apache SkyWalkingopen_source
Glowrootopen_source
Price level
Apache SkyWalkingfree
Glowrootfree
Transparent
Apache SkyWalking✓
Glowroot✓
Integrations
Count
Apache SkyWalking18
Glowroot50
Security
Scorecard
Apache SkyWalking7
Glowroot5.2
Vulnerabilities
Reliability
Status page
Apache SkyWalking–
Glowroot✓
Adoption
Dependent repos
Apache SkyWalking106
Glowroot13
Github stars
Apache SkyWalking24,968
Glowroot1,358
Activity
Commits last 30d
Apache SkyWalking21
Glowroot10
Release
Cadence days
Apache SkyWalking93
Glowroot27
History
Apache SkyWalking20 items
Glowroot20 items
License
Spdx
Apache SkyWalkingApache-2.0
GlowrootApache-2.0
Language
Primary
Apache SkyWalkingJava
GlowrootJava
Content
Faq
Apache SkyWalking6 items
Glowroot6 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for apm tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Instrumentation
Auto-instrumentation
Apache SkyWalking✓
Glowroot✓
Distributed tracing
Apache SkyWalking✓
Glowroot✓
Insight
Service map
Apache SkyWalking✓
Glowroot-
Code / continuous profiling
Apache SkyWalking✓
Glowroot✓
Database monitoring
Apache SkyWalking✓
Glowroot✓
Error analytics
Apache SkyWalking✓
Glowroot✓
Real-user monitoring
Apache SkyWalking✓
Glowroot-
SLO / error-budget tracking
Apache SkyWalking-
Glowroot-
Intelligence
Anomaly / root-cause AI
Apache SkyWalking✓
Glowroot-
Standards
OpenTelemetry support
Apache SkyWalkingOTLP ingest
GlowrootNone
Core
Language agents
Apache SkyWalking10+ language agents supported
GlowrootJava
Deployment
Hosting
Apache SkyWalkingCloud + self-hosted
GlowrootSelf-hosted only

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Apache SkyWalking

An open-source system for monitoring and analyzing distributed applications with comprehensive tracing, service topology visualization, and multi-signal observability for microservices and AI workloads.

Independently observed

Glowroot

A lightweight APM solution for Java applications that helps identify performance bottlenecks and understand application behavior with low overhead and straightforward deployment options.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Apache SkyWalking

Open source
as of verify ↗

Glowroot

Open sourceFree tier

Open source, free

as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Apache SkyWalking✓
Glowroot✓
Linux
Apache SkyWalking✓
Glowroot✗
CLI
Apache SkyWalking✓
Glowroot✗
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Apache SkyWalking✓
Glowroot✗
Self-hosted
Apache SkyWalking✓
Glowroot✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (3)
  • Kafka
  • Redis
  • MongoDB

Apache SkyWalking

33 total - 30 not shared
  • Apache APISIX
  • Grafana
  • OpenTelemetry Collector
  • Amazon Bedrock
  • OpenAI
  • WeChat Mini Program
  • Alipay Mini Program
  • MySQL
  • PostgreSQL
  • Envoy
  • DeepSeek
  • Claude Sonnet
  • Zipkin
  • OpenTelemetry
  • Prometheus
  • Zabbix
  • Fluentd
  • Flink
  • Kong
  • Apache RocketMQ
  • Apache ActiveMQ
  • Pulsar
  • ClickHouse
  • Nginx
  • +6 more
Independently observed

Glowroot

39 total - 36 not shared
  • Apache Camel
  • Cassandra
  • EJB
  • Elasticsearch
  • Grails
  • Hibernate
  • Apache HttpClient
  • Apache HttpAsyncClient
  • AsyncHttpClient
  • OkHttp
  • JavaMail
  • JAX-RS
  • JAX-WS
  • JDBC
  • JMS
  • JSF
  • JSP
  • JUL
  • Log4j
  • Logback
  • Netty
  • Play Framework
  • Quartz Scheduler
  • Servlets
  • +12 more
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Apache SkyWalking or Glowroot: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.