Chisel vs RustDesk
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Chisel
Fast TCP/UDP tunnel over HTTP secured by SSH
VS
RustDesk
Open-source remote desktop alternative to TeamViewer
| Feature | Chisel | RustDesk |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 16,362 | ★ 119,867 |
| First released | 2015 | 2021 |
| Replaces | ngrok | TeamViewer, AnyDesk |
Why pick each one
Choose Chisel if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 16.4k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Chisel or RustDesk better?
RustDesk is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Chisel if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Chisel and RustDesk free and open-source?
Yes. Chisel is licensed under MIT and RustDesk under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Chisel and RustDesk with Docker?
Chisel: yes. RustDesk: yes.