RustDesk Review (2026)
- Starting price
- Free tier available
- Free trial
- Free tier
- Deployment
- Self-host
- Best for
- Teams wanting a free, open-source, fully self-hosted remote desktop
Our verdict
RustDesk earns 7.8/10 in our review, weighted from Not yet rated and its feature/pricing profile. The open-source remote desktop disruptor — free and private if you self-host, with an affordable Pro management layer. Best for teams wanting a free, open-source, fully self-hosted remote desktop. Starting price: Free tier available.
Pros & cons
✓ Pros
- Free
- open-source
- fully self-hosted
- No per-tech subscription
- Data never leaves your servers
✕ Cons
- Self-hosting + setup required
- No SOC 2 / formal audit
- Smaller ecosystem + support
Key features
- Open-source self-hosted core (AGPL)
- Cross-platform (Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- mobile
- web)
- Self-hosted relay + ID server
- Web console + address book (Pro)
- 2FA + OIDC/LDAP (Pro)
- No per-technician cloud fees
How RustDesk compares
| RustDesk | TeamViewer | AnyDesk | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available | $14.9/mo |
| Pricing model | flat | per license | per license |
| Free trial / tier | Free tier | Free tier + free trial | Free tier + 14 days |
| Best for | Teams wanting a free, open-source, fully self-hosted remote desktop | Cross-platform remote support with broad device reach | Fast, lightweight remote access on a budget |
| Deployment | Self-host | Cloud | Cloud |
| G2 rating | — | 4.5/5 (4000) | 4.5/5 (1000) |
| Capterra rating | — | — | — |
| Our score | 7.8 | 8.1 | 8.1 |
Full review
RustDesk review — 7.8/10
The open-source remote desktop disruptor — free and private if you self-host, with an affordable Pro management layer. Our score weights Not yet rated against feature breadth and pricing value.
Pricing value
RustDesk starts at Free tier available on a flat model with a free tier. See the full pricing breakdown.
Who should buy RustDesk
Best for teams wanting a free, open-source, fully self-hosted remote desktop. If that is not you, weigh the alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
- Is RustDesk worth it?
- RustDesk earns 7.8/10 in our review, weighted from Not yet rated and its feature/pricing profile. The open-source remote desktop disruptor — free and private if you self-host, with an affordable Pro management layer. Best for teams wanting a free, open-source, fully self-hosted remote desktop. Starting price: Free tier available.
- What does RustDesk cost?
- From Free tier available — see the pricing page.
Based on aggregated third-party ratings (Not yet rated) and RustDesk's published feature and pricing data. Hands-on testing notes are added as we trial each tool — see how we test.