head to head · open source
RustDesk vs LocalSend
RustDesk has 123,854 GitHub stars, 19,128 forks, 147 open issues and last shipped yesterday. LocalSend has 91,903 stars, 5,130 forks, 1,113 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. RustDesk leads on adoption by 35% (123,854 vs 91,903 stars). RustDesk is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0; LocalSend is written in Dart under Apache-2.0. RustDesk has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, LocalSend 6%. RustDesk was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (dart, flutter, flutter-apps), 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 | LocalSend | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 124K | ★ 92K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Rust | Dart |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 19K | ⑂ 5.1K |
| 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 LocalSend if
- You want the LocalSend feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You evaluated both and LocalSend 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 LocalSend
LocalSend is a free, open source, cross platform application that shares files and messages directly between nearby devices over the local network, and it is built for anyone who wants AirDrop style transfers without an internet connection or a third party server.
read the full LocalSend overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is RustDesk or LocalSend more popular?
RustDesk has 123,854 GitHub stars and LocalSend has 91,903. RustDesk has the larger community by that measure.
Are RustDesk and LocalSend free?
Both are open source. RustDesk is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and LocalSend under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between RustDesk and LocalSend?
RustDesk is written in Rust and LocalSend 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 LocalSend?
Choose RustDesk if you want the larger community (123,854 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose LocalSend if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.