Sunshine vs websockify
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?
Sunshine
Self-hosted game-stream host for Moonlight clients
VS
websockify
WebSocket-to-TCP bridge for browser remote access
| Feature | Sunshine | websockify |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | GPL-3.0 | LGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | bare-metal, source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 39,962 | ★ 4,427 |
| First released | 2020 | 2010 |
| Replaces | NVIDIA GameStream, Parsec | proprietary remote gateways |
Why pick each one
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 Sunshine or websockify better?
Neither is universally better. Sunshine has the larger community, while websockify is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Sunshine and websockify free and open-source?
Yes. Sunshine is licensed under GPL-3.0 and websockify under LGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Sunshine and websockify with Docker?
Sunshine: yes. websockify: check the project docs for container support.