C++ is vastly more readable. I will never go back to writing or maintaining C++ projects, but drop me into a C++ file to review something and it is usually very easy to grok.
Part of this is style and conventions though. I have implemented an STL container before, and that templating hell is far worse than anything I’ve ever seen in the Rust ecosystem. But someone following modern C++ conventions (e.g. a Google library) produces very clean and readable code.
That's not what "readability" generally means. Yes, Rust's semantics are more tightly locked down, and that's a big part of why I use it. But given two well-written source files, one in modern C++ and one in contemporary Rust, can you quickly skim and understand what each one is supposed to be doing, irregardless of bugs that might be lurking? If you made me guess right now which one I'd have an easier time understanding, I'd guess the C++ file.
Part of this is style and conventions though. I have implemented an STL container before, and that templating hell is far worse than anything I’ve ever seen in the Rust ecosystem. But someone following modern C++ conventions (e.g. a Google library) produces very clean and readable code.