RustDesk

Remote Desktop Softwarerustdesk.com

RustDesk (operated by Purslane Tech Pte. Ltd., Singapore) provides open-source, self-hosted remote desktop software with a free AGPL client and paid Server Pro subscriptions, serving IT support teams, administrators, remote workers, and compliance-focused enterprises that need data-sovereign alternatives to TeamViewer and AnyDesk.

Company typePrivate
Founded2020
HeadquartersSingapore, Singapore
Headcount1–10
GTM typeB2B
OfferingSoftware

What RustDesk does

RustDesk, operated by Purslane Tech Pte. Ltd. and headquartered at 68 Circular Road in Singapore, develops open-source remote desktop software consisting of a multi-platform client (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android) and self-hosted server components (hbbs ID server and hbbr relay server) written in Rust. The product was released on GitHub in 2021 after the founder, frustrated by TeamViewer licensing costs during COVID-19, built an open-source alternative, and it has since grown to 113K+ GitHub stars, 30M+ client downloads, and 10M+ active devices. The free AGPL-licensed RustDesk Client and Server OSS serve individual users and self-hosting organizations, while the commercial RustDesk Server Pro adds enterprise capabilities including a web console, custom client generator, LDAP/OIDC integration, 2FA, audit logging, distributed relay servers, user/device ACL, device groups, and session recording, sold via annual subscriptions starting at $11.88/month.

The business model is a freemium open-source structure: the free tier drives community adoption and viral distribution through GitHub, Docker Hub (10M+ pulls), Discord, Reddit, X, and YouTube, while monetization comes exclusively from self-hosted RustDesk Server Pro annual licenses (Individual, Basic, Custom, and Custom V2 tiers) purchased self-serve via Stripe checkout on rustdesk.com. Target customers are IT support professionals (37% of self-hosting users per company survey), IT administrators (25%), remote workers (29%), and industrial/other use cases (9%), with growing emphasis on compliance-sensitive enterprises that require data sovereignty, LDAP/SSO integration, and custom-branded clients. Distribution is entirely digital and product-led, with no disclosed channel partners, no external funding, a small core team (CEO Joseph Jacks, Community Assistant Daniel Lamb), and active product cadence including Server Pro 1.5.0 (Feb 2025), Web Client V2 preview (Oct 2024), and a Flutter 3.24 Windows 7 support patch (Dec 2024).

RustDesk firmographics

Firmographics

Name: RustDesk
Legal name: Purslane Tech Pte. Ltd.
Website: https://rustdesk.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2020
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1–10 employees
Short description: RustDesk (operated by Purslane Tech Pte. Ltd., Singapore) provides open-source, self-hosted remote desktop software with a free AGPL client and paid Server Pro subscriptions, serving IT support teams, administrators, remote workers, and compliance-focused enterprises that need data-sovereign alternatives to TeamViewer and AnyDesk.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Where RustDesk is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Singapore
HQ country: Singapore
HQ region: Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

RustDesk business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Software
Cost components: Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

RustDesk Server Pro Licenses: Annual subscription licenses for RustDesk Server Pro with tiered pricing based on users and managed devices. Includes features like 2FA, LDAP integration, OIDC/SSO, custom client generator, web console, and distributed relay servers. The OSS version is free and open source.
Custom Client Generator (Pro): Available exclusively to Pro users (Basic plan or higher), enabling enterprise clients with custom branding, server settings, and signing workflows.
Pro Support: All paid plans include dedicated customer support for assistance with inquiries or issues.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Freemium	Annual	Free open-source self-hosting plan
Subscription	Annual	Individual Pro plan for single users
Subscription	Annual	Basic Pro plan for small teams
Subscription	Annual	Custom Pro plan with per-user/per-device pricing
Subscription	Annual	Custom V2 Pro plan with limited concurrent connections

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

RustDesk product offering

Product offering

Core offering

RustDesk develops and distributes open-source remote desktop software consisting of the free multi-platform RustDesk Client (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android) and the free self-hosted RustDesk Server OSS (hbbs + hbbr components). The commercial layer, RustDesk Server Pro, is sold as annual self-hosted subscription licenses that add a web console, custom client generator, LDAP/OIDC SSO, 2FA, distributed relay servers, audit logs, granular ACLs with device groups, and session recording for organizations that need full data sovereignty.

Product overview

RustDesk is an open-source remote desktop software platform consisting of a multi-platform client application and self-hosted server solutions. The core offering includes the RustDesk Client (free, open-source, supporting Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android) and the RustDesk Server OSS (free self-hosted server with hbbs and hbbr components). The commercial layer consists of RustDesk Server Pro (paid self-hosted server with web console management, custom client generator, LDAP/OIDC integration, 2FA, audit logging, distributed relays, user/device ACL, and device groups) and the RustDesk Web Client (V2 browser-based access, integrated into Pro plans at $47.88+/month). The product competes directly with TeamViewer, AnyDesk, and Splashtop, differentiating through full data sovereignty via self-hosting, open-source transparency, and a pricing model based on per-user/per-device licenses rather than per-session SaaS subscriptions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

RustDesk Client Free, open-source multi-platform remote desktop client for end users, supporting Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. Provides remote access and support capabilities including file transfer, clipboard sync, audio, keyboard/mouse control, and session recording for IT professionals, system administrators, remote workers, and individuals.
RustDesk Server OSS Free, open-source self-hosted server component for RustDesk, consisting of hbbs (ID/rendezvous server) and hbbr (relay server). Licensed under AGPL and deployed via Docker, Synology NAS, or direct binary installation by individual users and organizations that want full data control without paying for commercial features.
RustDesk Server Pro Commercial self-hosted server sold as annual subscription licenses (Individual, Basic, Custom, Custom V2) for IT teams and enterprises. Adds a web console, custom client generator with branded signing, LDAP/OIDC SSO, 2FA, audit logs, distributed relay servers, granular ACL with device groups, cross-group access, address book, and session recording on top of the OSS server.

Quantifiable outcome

30M+ client downloads
+4 more outcomes

Companies that use RustDesk

Customer profile

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

RustDesk technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: Yes
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability4 records

Feature20 records

RustDesk partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

RustDesk competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Emerging players

MeshCentral: Open-source remote management and remote desktop server from Ylian Saint-Hilaire (Intel). Directly comparable as an open-source, self-hosted alternative with active community, addressing similar IT administration and remote support use cases as RustDesk Server OSS.
Apache Guacamole: Open-source clientless remote desktop gateway (HTML5/web-based) that also supports self-hosted deployments. Overlaps with RustDesk's self-hosted value proposition for technical buyers willing to assemble their own stack; less polished UI but Apache-governed and free.

Broad incumbents

ConnectWise ScreenConnect: Remote support and remote access platform from ConnectWise targeted at MSPs and IT service providers. Direct overlap with RustDesk's IT support use case, with deeper integrations into the ConnectWise PSA/RMM ecosystem for managed service providers.
Chrome Remote Desktop: Free, browser-based remote desktop tool from Google. Overlaps with RustDesk's consumer and SMB use cases but is SaaS-only, lacks self-hosting, and is positioned as a lightweight consumer utility rather than an enterprise support tool.
Microsoft Remote Desktop: Built-in Windows Remote Desktop and Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for enterprise session hosting. Competes with RustDesk in the IT administration segment, particularly for Windows-centric estates; bundled with Windows Server rather than sold standalone.
Citrix (Cloud Software Group): Enterprise virtual desktop and application delivery platform (Citrix DaaS, formerly XenApp/XenDesktop). Adjacent to RustDesk in the remote access category but positioned upmarket for VDI and virtualized application delivery rather than peer-to-peer remote support.

Direct peers

Splastop: Commercial remote access and remote support SaaS provider explicitly named by RustDesk as a primary competitor. Targets the same IT support and remote work use cases, serving SMB and enterprise customers with subscription-based SaaS.
NoMachine: Remote desktop and remote computing software for cross-platform access. Competes with RustDesk across Windows, macOS, and Linux with a freemium enterprise model and similar feature surface (file transfer, session recording, multi-platform).
AnyDesk: Direct competitor in the remote desktop software market, explicitly named by RustDesk. Offers proprietary remote access software for individuals and enterprises; tied with RustDesk at 8.0/10 in the citmt enterprise remote support comparison.
TeamViewer: Leading commercial remote desktop and remote support SaaS provider, explicitly named by RustDesk as a primary competitor and migration target. Same core use cases (IT support, remote work, device management) with a SaaS-first delivery model that RustDesk differentiates against via self-hosting.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

RustDesk financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

RustDesk leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

RustDesk funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

RustDesk M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about RustDesk

What does RustDesk do?

Is RustDesk a public or private company?

RustDesk is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.

When was RustDesk founded?

RustDesk was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.

Where is RustDesk based?

RustDesk is headquartered in Singapore, Singapore, in the Asia region.

How does RustDesk make money?

Three revenue lines are on record. RustDesk Server Pro Licenses are the primary driver. The others are custom Client Generator (Pro) and pro Support.

Who are RustDesk's main competitors?

Emerging players on record are MeshCentral and Apache Guacamole. Broad incumbents are ConnectWise ScreenConnect, Chrome Remote Desktop, Microsoft Remote Desktop and Citrix (Cloud Software Group). Direct peers are Splastop, NoMachine, AnyDesk and TeamViewer.

Does RustDesk have an API?

Yes. RustDesk Server Pro provides configuration and management APIs accessible via the web console. The API Server runs on port 21114 by default and supports REST-based configuration for client deployment, device management, user management, permissions, strategies, and licenses. API tokens are generated from the web console and must have appropriate permissions (e.g., read/write for devices). Configuration strings can be retrieved from the web console or RustDesk client and applied via command line (--config). License verification supports proxy configuration (HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5). SMTP API integration for email notifications is also supported, including Microsoft 365 integration. Developer documentation is at rustdesk.com/docs/en/self-host/rustdesk-server-pro/console.