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TightVNC vs RustDesk: catalog facts
TightVNCRustDesk
Free

Free and open source under the GPL. A commercial licence is sold for redistribution.

Freemium

The clients and the open-source server are free. A paid RustDesk Server Pro adds extra…

Windows, Linux Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Self-hosted
  • Very light on resources, with a Java viewer that runs from any browser host
  • Simple, dependable remote control on a local network
  • Self-hosted relay and rendezvous servers, so sessions never touch a third-party SaaS
  • Windows, macOS, Linux and Android clients, plus a web client you can host yourself
  • No relay service; you must reach the machine yourself over the network
  • VNC authentication is weak and needs to be tunnelled over SSH or a VPN
  • Run without your own server and you are relying on the project’s public infrastructure
  • Unattended access and Wayland support have been moving targets on Linux
Downloadable app Downloadable app, Self-hosted
Open source Open source
License: GPL-2.0 License: AGPL-3.0
Not stated if an account is needed No account needed
Not stated if it works offline Needs internet

Checked September 22, 2026

Checked September 20, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.