NATSvsRustDesk Server
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| NATS | RustDesk Server | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 | 75/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 12 in Message Broker | #4 of 22 in Remote Desktop |
| GitHub stars | 20 954 | 10 627 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +192 | +178 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 18 | 2 |
| Latest release | v2.14.9 · 26 Oct 2026 | 1.1.16 · 20 Jul 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | Rust |
Which one should you pick?
NATS scores 80/100 against 75/100 for RustDesk Server, so it is the safer default.
NATS ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 2 for RustDesk Server.
If you want the quickest setup, RustDesk Server is easier to run; NATS needs more configuration.
NATS details →RustDesk Server details →
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