head to head · open source
RustDesk vs OBS Studio
RustDesk has 124,029 GitHub stars, 19,163 forks, 147 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OBS Studio has 76,421 stars, 10,245 forks, 1,148 open issues and last shipped yesterday. RustDesk leads on adoption by 62% (124,029 vs 76,421 stars). RustDesk is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0; OBS Studio is written in C under GPL-2.0. RustDesk has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, OBS Studio 13%. RustDesk 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
| RustDesk | OBS Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 124K | ★ 76K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Rust | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 19K | ⑂ 10K |
| 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 OBS Studio if
- You want the OBS Studio feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and OBS Studio 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 OBS Studio
OBS Studio is a free, open source C application for capturing, compositing, encoding, recording, and streaming video content, built for streamers, screen recorders, and anyone who needs to produce live or recorded video without paying for a commercial suite.
read the full OBS Studio overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is RustDesk or OBS Studio more popular?
RustDesk has 124,029 GitHub stars and OBS Studio has 76,421. RustDesk has the larger community by that measure.
Are RustDesk and OBS Studio free?
Both are open source. RustDesk is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and OBS Studio under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between RustDesk and OBS Studio?
RustDesk is written in Rust and OBS Studio in C. 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 OBS Studio?
Choose RustDesk if you want the larger community (124,029 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose OBS Studio if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.