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Apache Guacamole Lite 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?
AP Apache Guacamole Lite Clientless remote desktop gateway library VS RustDesk Open-source remote desktop alternative to TeamViewer
FeatureApache Guacamole LiteRustDesk
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score47 · Fair100 · Excellent
CategoryRemote Access & VPNRemote Access & VPN
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageJavaScriptRust
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, sourcedocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 333★ 124,391
First released20162021
ReplacesTeamViewer, CitrixTeamViewer, AnyDesk

What are Apache Guacamole Lite and RustDesk?

Apache Guacamole Lite

guacamole-lite is a lightweight Node.js implementation of the Guacamole protocol server, enabling clientless RDP, VNC, and SSH access through the browser. Developers embed it to build custom remote-access portals.

  • Clientless RDP and VNC
  • Browser-based access
  • Embeddable library
  • WebSocket transport

RustDesk

RustDesk is an open-source remote desktop application that works out of the box with optional self-hosted relay and rendezvous servers. It runs on all major platforms.

  • Self-hosted relay servers
  • Cross-platform clients
  • End-to-end encryption
  • No configuration required

Read the full RustDesk guide →

Apache Guacamole Lite vs RustDesk: key differences

Apache Guacamole Lite is written in JavaScript, while RustDesk is built with Rust. Licensing differs — MIT for Apache Guacamole Lite versus AGPL-3.0 for RustDesk. Apache Guacamole Lite is the more established project (first released 2016), while RustDesk arrived in 2021. RustDesk has the considerably larger community, at 124,391 GitHub stars versus 333.

Why pick each one

Choose Apache Guacamole Lite if…

  • Lightweight alternative
  • Easy to integrate

Watch out for

  • Not a full product
  • Requires custom UI
Apache Guacamole Lite details

Choose RustDesk if…

  • Easy self-hosted server
  • Works everywhere

Watch out for

  • Relay can be bandwidth heavy
RustDesk details

Frequently asked questions

Is Apache Guacamole Lite or RustDesk better?

RustDesk is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Apache Guacamole Lite if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Apache Guacamole Lite and RustDesk free and open-source?

Yes. Apache Guacamole Lite is licensed under MIT and RustDesk under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Apache Guacamole Lite and RustDesk with Docker?

Apache Guacamole Lite: yes. RustDesk: yes.

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