Why Rewrite Your Project in Rust in 2025: 6 Strategic Reasons

We compare Rust to alternative technologies and provide real-world use cases before discussing the migration criteria, with an entire guide for tech leaders considering the switch.

The software world is evolving. With complexity growing in the systems, the performance bottlenecks crossing over into security issues, developers are revisiting their tech stacks. One language that is consistently making headlines is Rust, a language highly valued for its zero-cost abstractions, blazing fast speeds, and memory safety. 

Transferring your project to Rust in 2025 might be more than a technology boost; it might be a competitive advantage. Whether you are developing system software and backend services, or adding new technologies such as WebAssembly, Rust provides safety and control difficult to obtain in most languages.

Learn how Rust Development Services can make your architecture future-proof, minimize runtime bugs, and eliminate technical debt.

Why Choose Rust?

Designed initially by Mozilla in 2010, Rust is a systems programming language designed to eliminate certain types of bugs, particularly memory bugs. By providing unmatched concurrency capabilities coupled with low-level program management without the pitfalls of C or C++, Rust became a mainstream choice for production deployment.

Milestones in Rust’s Evolution:

• 2010

Rust announced by Mozilla

• 2015

Version 1.0 released

• 2021

Rust Foundation established

• 2024

Adopted at scale by AWS, Microsoft, Google, and fintech/blockchain ecosystems

What Can You Create Using Rust?

Rust drives a vast range of mission-critical applications. Some of these categories are:

• System Software

Firefox Servo – Mozilla’s high-performance rendering engine

Redox OS – Microkernel-based OS entirely written in Rust

• Cloud Infrastructure

AWS Firecracker – Used in AWS Lambda for secure, minimal VMs

Vector – A high-performance observability pipeline

• Blockchain & Fintech

Solana – One of the fastest blockchain platforms, powered by Rust

Polkadot – A secure and scalable blockchain interoperability protocol

• Game Engines & Graphics

Amethyst and Bevy – Rust-native engines leveraging ECS for performant game development

• CLI & DevOps Tools

ripgrep – Lightning-fast file searcher

exa – A modern replacement for ls

• Web Development

Yew – A component-based Rust web framework akin to React

WebAssembly – Rust is a leading choice for compiling performant code to WebAssembly

Rust Vs. Other Languages

Prior to deciding on migrating to Rust, you need to understand how it compares with the most popular programming languages used today. This table compares the most important features, such as memory safety, performance, memory management, concurrency, and usage in system software as well as web programming.

When Should You Rewrite in Rust?

Rewriting in Rust is not always necessary, but it's worthwhile in the following situations:

• Memory Safety

Legacy C/C++ programs might suffer from memory-related bugs. Rust removes this class of bugs entirely.

Works for: Medical, accounting, security software

• Performance

If raw speed optimization is your priority and your existing stack cannot perform without sacrificing security, Rust provides C-level performance without the penalty of garbage collection.

Works for: Data Engines, streaming services, games

• Low-Level Systems

Rust is well-suited for kernel modules, embedded systems, and device drivers. It offers total control without using unsafe code.

Works for: Embedded devices, custom operating systems

• Multithreading

Rust’s ownership model makes concurrent programming safer and easier to reason about.

Works for: High-traffic APIs, real-time analytics systems

• Technical Debt

Its strict type system and concise syntax assist in lowering long-term maintenance costs.

Works for: SaaS platforms & monolith-to-microservice refactors

• Outdated or Unsupported Technological Stack

If your codebase is in a language that is no longer supported or sustainable, rewriting it in Rust promises a contemporary foundation.

Works for: Migration from legacy C/C++, Perl, or old PHP apps

When Rust Is Not the Optimal Choice?

• If your project is purely business logic–driven and doesn’t need systems-level control
• If memory safety and performance aren’t top concerns
• If your team has no Rust experience and time-to-market is a key constraint
• If your current codebase is stable and future-proof as-is

Rust in 2025 and Beyond: What’s Next?

• Cloud-native Growth

Rust is becoming a first-class language for infrastructure-as-code and containerized environments

• AI & Data Science

Gaining traction for performance-critical ML components and safe wrappers for C++ libraries

• WebAssembly Leadership

Rust is the go-to for compiling secure and fast WebAssembly apps

• Cybersecurity

Governments and security firms are increasingly adopting Rust for hardened systems

• Big Tech Adoption

Meta, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are all backing Rust in production workflows

Conclusion

Major tech companies are more serious about software security than ever. While Microsoft has opted to move specific parts of its services from C# back to Rust, others have started evaluating Rust as a long-term technology stack for critical systems.

While the quantity of Rust professionals in the marketplace in 2025 is modest, and its user base is less established than either Python or C's, it is fast-changing. We expect it to be a short time before Rust catches up with the world's most commercially sustainable programming languages.

If you are planning a migration in 2025, assess your pain points now. If performance, memory safety, or tech debt are at stake, it may be time for a change.