vioscaleAI
Comparison

Apache SkyWalking vs Instana

On the evidence we track, Instana leads this comparison with a composite score of 60/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Apache SkyWalking full profile →Instana full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Apache SkyWalking53
★Instana60
Score
vioscaleAI score
Apache SkyWalking53 / 100medium · 55%
Instana60 / 100low · 41%
Pricing
Free tier
Apache SkyWalking✓
Instana✗
Model
Apache SkyWalkingopen_source
Instanacommercial
Price level
Apache SkyWalkingfree
Instanamid
Starting price
Apache SkyWalking–
Instana$21.20
Transparent
Apache SkyWalking✓
Instana✓
Integrations
Count
Apache SkyWalking18
Instana300
Security
Disclosure policy
Apache SkyWalking–
Instana✓
Gdpr
Apache SkyWalking–
Instana✓
Scorecard
Apache SkyWalking7
Instana–
Soc2
Apache SkyWalking–
Instana✓
Vulnerabilities
Adoption
Dependent repos
Apache SkyWalking106
Instana–
Github stars
Apache SkyWalking24,968
Instana–
Activity
Commits last 30d
Apache SkyWalking21
Instana–
Release
Cadence days
Apache SkyWalking93
Instana–
History
Apache SkyWalking20 items
Instana–
License
Spdx
Apache SkyWalkingApache-2.0
Instana–
Language
Primary
Apache SkyWalkingJava
Instana–
Market
Availability
Apache SkyWalking–
InstanaAvailable worldwide
Content
Faq
Apache SkyWalking6 items
Instana6 items

Capabilities

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

Instrumentation
Auto-instrumentation
Apache SkyWalking✓
Instana✓
Distributed tracing
Apache SkyWalking✓
Instana✓
Insight
Service map
Apache SkyWalking✓
Instana✓
Code / continuous profiling
Apache SkyWalking✓
Instana✓
Database monitoring
Apache SkyWalking✓
Instana✓
Error analytics
Apache SkyWalking✓
Instana✓
Real-user monitoring
Apache SkyWalking✓
Instana✓
SLO / error-budget tracking
Apache SkyWalking-
Instana-
Intelligence
Anomaly / root-cause AI
Apache SkyWalking✓
Instana✓
Standards
OpenTelemetry support
Apache SkyWalkingOTLP ingest
InstanaOTLP ingest
Core
Language agents
Apache SkyWalking10+ language agents supported
Instana300+ technologies supported
Deployment
Hosting
Apache SkyWalkingCloud + self-hosted
InstanaCloud + self-hosted

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

Instana

Leader

A monitoring and observability platform that automatically discovers and monitors applications and infrastructure, providing real-time full-stack visibility with AI-powered incident investigation and performance optimization.

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 ↗

Instana

Leader
from $21.20/MVS/moHybrid14-day trial

From $0.03/MVS hour (pay-per-use) or $21.20/MVS/month (SaaS). 14-day free trial available.

  • Try Instana for FreeFree
    • Application monitoring
    • Infrastructure monitoring
    • Log monitoring
    • Digital experience monitoring
    • Microservice visibility
    • +2 more
  • PayPerUseFrom $0.03/MVS hour
    • Infrastructure monitoring (Essentials)
    • Full observability option
    • No commitment
    • Cancel anytime
  • SaaSFrom $21.20/MVS/month
    • Unlimited users
    • Unlimited hosts and scale
    • Service discovery and mapping
    • Distributed end-to-end tracing
    • Serverless monitoring
    • +7 more
  • Self-HostedFrom $385.20/MVS/year
    • Service discovery and mapping
    • Distributed end-to-end tracing
    • Serverless monitoring
    • Container and runtime monitoring
    • Kubernetes monitoring
    • +8 more
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✓
Instana✓
Linux
Apache SkyWalking✓
Instana✗
CLI
Apache SkyWalking✓
Instana✗
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Apache SkyWalking✓
Instana✓
Self-hosted
Apache SkyWalking✓
Instana✓
On-premise
Apache SkyWalking✗
Instana✓
Hybrid
Apache SkyWalking✗
Instana✓

Integrations

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

In common (7)
  • MySQL
  • PostgreSQL
  • Redis
  • OpenTelemetry
  • ClickHouse
  • MongoDB
  • Kubernetes

Apache SkyWalking

33 total - 26 not shared
  • Apache APISIX
  • Grafana
  • OpenTelemetry Collector
  • Amazon Bedrock
  • OpenAI
  • WeChat Mini Program
  • Alipay Mini Program
  • Kafka
  • Envoy
  • DeepSeek
  • Claude Sonnet
  • Zipkin
  • Prometheus
  • Zabbix
  • Fluentd
  • Flink
  • Kong
  • Apache RocketMQ
  • Apache ActiveMQ
  • Pulsar
  • Nginx
  • Cilium
  • BookKeeper
  • ChatGPT
  • +2 more
Independently observed

Instana

Leader
52 total - 45 not shared
  • ServiceNow
  • AWS
  • Azure
  • Google Cloud
  • Oracle Cloud
  • IBM Cloud
  • VMware Tanzu
  • Cloud Foundry
  • VSphere
  • Cassandra
  • Oracle Database
  • IBM Db2
  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • SAP HANA
  • Apache Spark
  • Hadoop YARN
  • Apache HBase
  • OpenSearch
  • GraphQL
  • AWS EC2
  • AWS RDS
  • AWS S3
  • Google Compute Engine
  • Redis Enterprise
  • +21 more
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Apache SkyWalking or Instana: 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.