GoTTY 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?
GoTTY
Share your terminal as a web application
VS
Moonlight
Open-source game streaming client for low-latency desktops
| Feature | GoTTY | Moonlight |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 19,537 | ★ 18,184 |
| First released | 2015 | 2015 |
| Replaces | PuTTY | Parsec, Steam Remote Play |
Why pick each one
Choose GoTTY if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 19.5k GitHub stars
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 GoTTY or Moonlight better?
Neither is universally better. GoTTY has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are GoTTY and Moonlight free and open-source?
Yes. GoTTY is licensed under MIT and Moonlight under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run GoTTY and Moonlight with Docker?
GoTTY: yes. Moonlight: check the project docs for container support.