Sunshine vs x11vnc
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
x11vnc
VNC server for real X11 displays
| Feature | Sunshine | x11vnc |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C++ | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | bare-metal, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 39,962 | ★ 846 |
| First released | 2020 | 2002 |
| Replaces | NVIDIA GameStream, Parsec | TightVNC, RealVNC |
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++
Choose x11vnc if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Sunshine or x11vnc 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 Sunshine and x11vnc free and open-source?
Yes. Sunshine is licensed under GPL-3.0 and x11vnc under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Sunshine and x11vnc with Docker?
Sunshine: yes. x11vnc: check the project docs for container support.