head to head · open source
Excalidraw vs RustDesk
Excalidraw has 135,053 GitHub stars, 15,973 forks, 3,445 open issues and last shipped yesterday. RustDesk has 127,925 stars, 20,252 forks, 147 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Excalidraw leads on adoption by 6% (135,053 vs 127,925 stars). Excalidraw is written in TypeScript under MIT; RustDesk is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0. Excalidraw has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, RustDesk 16%. Excalidraw was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Excalidraw | RustDesk | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 135K | ★ 128K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 16K | ⑂ 20K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Excalidraw if
- You weight community size — 135K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick RustDesk if
- You want the RustDesk feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and RustDesk fits your workflow better
About Excalidraw
Excalidraw Editor Blog Documentation Excalidraw+ An open source virtual hand drawn style whiteboard. Collaborative and end to end encrypted. Create beautiful hand drawn like diagrams, wireframes, or whatever you like. Features The Excalidraw editor (npm package) supports: 💯 Free & open source. 🎨 Infinite, canvas based whiteboard. ✍️ Hand drawn like style. 🌓 Dark mode. 🏗️ Customizable. 📷 Image support. 😀 Shape libraries support. 🌐 Localization (i18n) support. 🖼️ Export to PNG, SVG & clipboard. 💾 Open format export drawings as an .excalidraw json file. ⚒️ Wide range of tools rectangle, circle, diamond…
read the full Excalidraw overview →
About RustDesk
Build • Docker • Structure • Screenshots [ Українська ] [ česky ] [ 中文 ] [ Magyar ] [ Español ] [ فارسی ] [ Français ] [ Deutsch ] [ Polski ] [ Indonesian ] [ Suomi ] [ മലയാളം ] [ 日本語 ] [ Nederlands ] [ Italiano ] [ Русский ] [ Português (Brasil) ] [ Esperanto ] [ 한국어 ] [ العربي ] [ Tiếng Việt ] [ Dansk ] [ Ελληνικά ] [ Türkçe ] [ Norsk ] [ Română ] We need your help to translate this README, RustDesk UI and RustDesk Doc to your native language [!Caution] Misuse Disclaimer: The developers of RustDesk do not condone or support any unethical or illegal use of this software. Misuse, such as unauthorized access…
read the full RustDesk overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Excalidraw or RustDesk more popular?
Excalidraw has 135,053 GitHub stars and RustDesk has 127,925. Excalidraw has the larger community by that measure.
Are Excalidraw and RustDesk free?
Both are open source. Excalidraw is licensed under MIT and RustDesk under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Excalidraw and RustDesk?
Excalidraw is written in TypeScript and RustDesk in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Excalidraw or RustDesk?
Choose Excalidraw if you want the larger community (135,053 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose RustDesk if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.