Portainervsrustdesk
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Portainer | rustdesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 77/100 | 92/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 44 in Container Management | #1 of 22 in Remote Desktop |
| GitHub stars | 38 737 | 127 345 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +188 | +2 974 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 21 | 7 |
| Latest release | 2.45.3 · 21 Oct 2026 | 1.5.0 · 25 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Zlib | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Rust |
Which one should you pick?
rustdesk scores 92/100 against 77/100 for Portainer, so it is the safer default.
Portainer ships more often: 21 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for rustdesk.
If you want the quickest setup, Portainer is easier to run; rustdesk needs more configuration.
rustdesk is growing faster right now (+2 974 stars in 30 days).
Portainer details →rustdesk details →
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