Moonlight
Open-source game streaming client for low-latency desktops
Moonlight is an open-source client implementation of NVIDIA's GameStream protocol that streams games and full desktops from a host PC. Paired with Sunshine, it enables a fully self-hosted remote desktop and gaming setup.
Key features
- Low-latency desktop streaming
- Works with Sunshine host
- Hardware-accelerated decoding
- Many client platforms
Strengths
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 18.2k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Moonlight replaces
Compare Moonlight
28 head-to-head comparisons.
- Moonlight vs RustDesk
- Moonlight vs frp
- Moonlight vs Headscale
- Moonlight vs Sunshine
- Moonlight vs Tailscale
- Moonlight vs JumpServer
- Moonlight vs Algo VPN
- Moonlight vs NetBird
- Moonlight vs WG-Easy
- Moonlight vs localtunnel
- Moonlight vs Neko
- Moonlight vs Teleport
- Moonlight vs GoTTY
- Moonlight vs Nebula
- Moonlight vs ZeroTier
- Moonlight vs Chisel
- Moonlight vs Cockpit
- Moonlight vs Termix
- Moonlight vs OpenVPN
- Moonlight vs Mosh
- Moonlight vs rathole
- Moonlight vs noVNC
- Moonlight vs FreeRDP
- Moonlight vs SoftEther VPN
- Moonlight vs EasyTier
- Moonlight vs Apollo
- Moonlight vs Games on Whales
- Moonlight vs Selkies
Similar remote access & vpn apps
RustDesk
Remote Access & VPNOpen-source remote desktop alternative to TeamViewer
Replaces TeamViewer, AnyDesk
frp
Remote Access & VPNFast reverse proxy to expose local servers behind NAT
Replaces ngrok
Headscale
Remote Access & VPNOpen-source self-hosted Tailscale control server
Replaces Tailscale
Sunshine
Remote Access & VPNSelf-hosted game-stream host for Moonlight clients
Replaces NVIDIA GameStream, Parsec
Tailscale
Remote Access & VPNZero-config mesh VPN built on WireGuard
Replaces ZeroTier
JumpServer
Remote Access & VPNOpen-source bastion host and PAM platform
Replaces CyberArk, Teleport