EMQXvsrustdesk
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| EMQX | rustdesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 92/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 14 in Messaging | #1 of 22 in Remote Desktop |
| GitHub stars | 16 868 | 127 359 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +114 | +2 988 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 15 | 7 |
| Latest release | 6.3.2 · 16 Oct 2026 | 1.5.0 · 25 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Erlang | Rust |
Which one should you pick?
rustdesk scores 92/100 against 78/100 for EMQX, so it is the safer default.
EMQX ships more often: 15 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for rustdesk.
If you want the quickest setup, rustdesk is easier to run; EMQX needs more configuration.
rustdesk is growing faster right now (+2 988 stars in 30 days).
EMQX details →rustdesk details →