head to head · open source
RustDesk vs AppFlowy
RustDesk has 127,925 GitHub stars, 20,252 forks, 147 open issues and last shipped yesterday. AppFlowy has 78,112 stars, 6,160 forks, 1,030 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. RustDesk leads on adoption by 64% (127,925 vs 78,112 stars). RustDesk is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0; AppFlowy is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0. RustDesk has attracted 16% 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 | ★ 128K | ★ 78K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | Dart |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 20K | ⑂ 6.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick RustDesk if
- You weight community size — 128K 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
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 →
About AppFlowy
AppFlowy ⭐️ The Open Source Alternative To Notion ⭐️ AppFlowy is the AI workspace where you achieve more without losing control of your data Website • Forum • Discord • Reddit • Twitter User Installation Download AppFlowy Desktop (macOS, Windows, and Linux) Other channels: FlatHub, Snapcraft, Sourceforge Available on App Store: iPhone Play Store: Android 10 or above; ARMv7 is not supported Self hosting AppFlowy Source Built With Flutter Rust Stay Up to Date Getting Started with development Please view the documentation for OS specific development instructions Roadmap AppFlowy Roadmap ReadMe AppFlowy Public…
read the full AppFlowy overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is RustDesk or AppFlowy more popular?
RustDesk has 127,925 GitHub stars and AppFlowy has 78,112. 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 (127,925 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.