head to head · open source
RustDesk vs AppFlowy
RustDesk has 123,854 GitHub stars, 19,128 forks, 147 open issues and last shipped yesterday. AppFlowy has 76,797 stars, 6,023 forks, 1,030 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. RustDesk leads on adoption by 61% (123,854 vs 76,797 stars). RustDesk is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0; AppFlowy is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0. RustDesk has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, AppFlowy 8%. RustDesk was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (flutter), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| RustDesk | AppFlowy | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 124K | ★ 77K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | Dart |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 19K | ⑂ 6.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick RustDesk if
- You weight community size — 124K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick AppFlowy if
- You want the AppFlowy feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You evaluated both and AppFlowy fits your workflow better
About RustDesk
RustDesk is an open source remote desktop application written in Rust, designed for self hosting as a privacy focused alternative to proprietary solutions like TeamViewer. It enables remote control of machines across Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS platforms using a peer to peer (P2P) architecture by default, with optional relay and rendezvous servers for NAT traversal. The project lives in the remote access and productivity ecosystem, targeting users who require full control over their infrastructure and data.
read the full RustDesk overview →
About AppFlowy
AppFlowy is an open source collaborative workspace platform that combines note taking, project management, wikis, and AI features into a single interface. It runs as a desktop and mobile application and supports self hosting, built with Flutter for the frontend and Rust for the backend. AppFlowy lives in the productivity and knowledge management ecosystem, positioned explicitly as a Notion alternative.
read the full AppFlowy overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is RustDesk or AppFlowy more popular?
RustDesk has 123,854 GitHub stars and AppFlowy has 76,797. RustDesk has the larger community by that measure.
Are RustDesk and AppFlowy free?
Both are open source. RustDesk is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and AppFlowy under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between RustDesk and AppFlowy?
RustDesk is written in Rust and AppFlowy in Dart. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, RustDesk or AppFlowy?
Choose RustDesk if you want the larger community (123,854 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose AppFlowy if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.