head to head · open source
rustfs vs parse-server
rustfs has 35,662 GitHub stars, 1,641 forks, 28 open issues and last shipped yesterday. parse-server has 21,397 stars, 4,813 forks, 561 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. rustfs leads on adoption by 67% (35,662 vs 21,397 stars). rustfs is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; parse-server is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. rustfs has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, parse-server 22%. rustfs 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
| rustfs | parse-server | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 36K | ★ 21K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Rust | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 4.8K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick rustfs if
- You weight community size — 36K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick parse-server if
- You want the parse-server feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and parse-server fits your workflow better
About rustfs
RustFS is a high performance, distributed object storage system built in Rust. Getting Started · Docs · Bug reports · Discussions English 简体中文 Deutsch Español français 日本語 한국어 Portuguese Русский RustFS is a high performance, distributed object storage system built in Rust—one of the most loved programming languages worldwide. RustFS combines the simplicity of MinIO with the memory safety and raw performance of Rust. It offers broad S3 API compatibility for supported features, is completely open source, and is optimized for data lakes, AI, and big data workloads. Unlike other storage systems, RustFS is released…
read the full rustfs overview →
About parse-server
[ ][open collective link] [ ][open collective link] Parse Server is an open source backend that can be deployed to any infrastructure that can run Node.js. Parse Server works with the Express web application framework. It can be added to existing web applications, or run by itself. The full documentation for Parse Server is available in the wiki. The Parse Server guide is a good place to get started. An API reference and Cloud Code guide are also available. If you're interested in developing for Parse Server, the Development guide will help you get set up. A big thank you 🙏 to our sponsors and backers who…
read the full parse-server overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is rustfs or parse-server more popular?
rustfs has 35,662 GitHub stars and parse-server has 21,397. rustfs has the larger community by that measure.
Are rustfs and parse-server free?
Both are open source. rustfs is licensed under Apache-2.0 and parse-server under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rustfs and parse-server?
rustfs is written in Rust and parse-server in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, rustfs or parse-server?
Choose rustfs if you want the larger community (35,662 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose parse-server if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.