Comparison

Apache SkyWalking vs Skylight

On the evidence we track, Skylight leads this comparison with a composite score of 59/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
Apache SkyWalking53
Skylight59
Score
Vioscale score
Apache SkyWalking53 / 100medium · 54%updating
Skylight59 / 100low · 49%updating
Pricing
Free tier
Apache SkyWalking
Skylight
Model
Apache SkyWalkingopen_source
Skylightfreemium
Price level
Apache SkyWalkingfree
Skylightmid
Transparent
Apache SkyWalking
Skylight
Integrations
Count
Apache SkyWalking14
Skylight7
Security
Gdpr
Apache SkyWalking
Skylight
Scorecard
Apache SkyWalking7
Skylight
Reliability
Status page
Apache SkyWalking
Skylight
Adoption
Dependent repos
Apache SkyWalking106
Skylight
Github stars
Apache SkyWalking24,930
Skylight
Activity
Commits last 30d
Apache SkyWalking20
Skylight
Release
Cadence days
Apache SkyWalking89
Skylight
History
Apache SkyWalking20 items
Skylight
License
Spdx
Apache SkyWalkingApache-2.0
Skylight
Language
Primary
Apache SkyWalkingJava
Skylight
Market
Availability
Apache SkyWalking

Capabilities

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

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

What each one is

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

Apache SkyWalking

An open-source observability platform combining distributed tracing, metrics, logs, and profiling in one interface. Provides automatic instrumentation across 10+ languages, interactive service topology visualization, database monitoring, and an AI assistant for answering observability questions in natural language.

Independently observed

Skylight

Leader

Skylight visualizes performance data to help identify and fix bottlenecks in Ruby and Rails apps. It includes endpoint analysis, SQL profiling, deploy tracking, and background job monitoring.

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 sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Skylight

Leader
from $20/moHybridFree tier30-day trial

Free tier with 100,000 monthly traces; paid tiers starting at $20/month

  • FreeFree
  • Pay-as-you-goStarting at $20/month
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
Skylight
CLI
Apache SkyWalking
Skylight
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Apache SkyWalking
Skylight
Self-hosted
Apache SkyWalking
Skylight

Integrations

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

Apache SkyWalking

14 total
  • Apache APISIX
  • Grafana
  • OpenTelemetry Collector
  • Amazon Bedrock
  • OpenAI
  • WeChat Mini Program
  • Alipay Mini Program
  • Kafka
  • MySQL
  • PostgreSQL
  • Redis
  • Envoy
  • DeepSeek
  • Claude Sonnet
Independently observed

Skylight

Leader
7 total
  • Sidekiq
  • DelayedJob
  • ActiveJob
  • Sinatra
  • Grape
  • GraphQL
  • MCP
Independently observed

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