RPort 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.
RustDesk
Open-source remote desktop alternative to TeamViewer
| Feature | RPort | RustDesk |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 0 · At risk | 100 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 21 | ★ 124,391 |
| First released | 2020 | 2021 |
| Replaces | TeamViewer, ngrok | TeamViewer, AnyDesk |
What are RPort and RustDesk?
RPort
RPort is an open-source remote management solution that lets you access and control servers and desktops behind firewalls. It provides tunnels, scripting, and a web UI.
- Remote access behind firewalls
- On-demand tunnels
- Script execution at scale
- Web management UI
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
RPort vs RustDesk: key differences
RPort is written in Go, while RustDesk is built with Rust. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for RPort versus AGPL-3.0 for RustDesk. RustDesk has the considerably larger community, at 124,391 GitHub stars versus 21.
Why pick each one
Choose RPort if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose RustDesk if…
- Easy self-hosted server
- Works everywhere
Watch out for
- Relay can be bandwidth heavy
Frequently asked questions
Is RPort or RustDesk better?
RustDesk is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider RPort if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are RPort and RustDesk free and open-source?
Yes. RPort is licensed under GPL-3.0 and RustDesk under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run RPort and RustDesk with Docker?
RPort: yes. RustDesk: yes.