FreeRDP vs Moonlight
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
FreeRDP
Free implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol
VS
Moonlight
Open-source game streaming client for low-latency desktops
| Feature | FreeRDP | Moonlight |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,527 | ★ 18,184 |
| First released | 2009 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Microsoft RDP | Parsec, Steam Remote Play |
Why pick each one
Choose Moonlight if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 18.2k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is FreeRDP or Moonlight better?
Moonlight is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider FreeRDP if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are FreeRDP and Moonlight free and open-source?
Yes. FreeRDP is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Moonlight under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run FreeRDP and Moonlight with Docker?
FreeRDP: check the project docs for container support. Moonlight: check the project docs for container support.