Apache Guacamole vs Sunshine
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?
Apache Guacamole
Clientless remote desktop gateway in your browser
VS
Sunshine
Self-hosted game-stream host for Moonlight clients
| Feature | Apache Guacamole | Sunshine |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,942 | ★ 39,962 |
| First released | 2016 | 2020 |
| Replaces | TeamViewer, Citrix | NVIDIA GameStream, Parsec |
Why pick each one
Choose Apache Guacamole if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
Choose Sunshine if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 40k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is Apache Guacamole or Sunshine better?
Neither is universally better. Sunshine has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Apache Guacamole and Sunshine free and open-source?
Yes. Apache Guacamole is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Sunshine under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Apache Guacamole and Sunshine with Docker?
Apache Guacamole: yes. Sunshine: yes.