Moonlight vs Nebula
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?
Moonlight
Open-source game streaming client for low-latency desktops
VS
Nebula
Scalable overlay networking tool from Slack
| Feature | Moonlight | Nebula |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | C++ | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 18,184 | ★ 17,591 |
| First released | 2015 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Parsec, Steam Remote Play | Tailscale |
Why pick each one
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++
Choose Nebula if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 17.6k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Moonlight or Nebula better?
Moonlight is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Nebula if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Moonlight and Nebula free and open-source?
Yes. Moonlight is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Nebula under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Moonlight and Nebula with Docker?
Moonlight: check the project docs for container support. Nebula: check the project docs for container support.