innernet 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?
innernet
Private network system using WireGuard
VS
Sunshine
Self-hosted game-stream host for Moonlight clients
| Feature | innernet | Sunshine |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Rust | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,520 | ★ 39,962 |
| First released | 2021 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Tailscale | NVIDIA GameStream, Parsec |
Why pick each one
Choose innernet if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 5.5k GitHub stars
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
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 innernet or Sunshine better?
Sunshine is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider innernet if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are innernet and Sunshine free and open-source?
Yes. innernet is licensed under MIT and Sunshine under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run innernet and Sunshine with Docker?
innernet: check the project docs for container support. Sunshine: yes.