openpencilvsrustdesk
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| openpencil | rustdesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 73/100 | 92/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 7 in Design | #1 of 22 in Remote Desktop |
| GitHub stars | 9 424 | 127 449 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +823 | +2 977 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 7 |
| Latest release | v0.16.0 · 14 Oct 2026 | 1.5.0 · 25 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Rust |
Which one should you pick?
rustdesk scores 92/100 against 73/100 for openpencil, so it is the safer default.
openpencil ships more often: 14 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for rustdesk.
If you want the quickest setup, openpencil is easier to run; rustdesk needs more configuration.
rustdesk is growing faster right now (+2 977 stars in 30 days).
openpencil details →rustdesk details →
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