Moonlight vs rathole
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
rathole
Lightweight and high-performance reverse proxy for NAT traversal
| Feature | Moonlight | rathole |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C++ | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary | binary, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 18,184 | ★ 13,999 |
| First released | 2015 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Parsec, Steam Remote Play | ngrok, frp |
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 rathole if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 14k GitHub stars
- Written in Rust
Frequently asked questions
Is Moonlight or rathole better?
Moonlight is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider rathole if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Moonlight and rathole free and open-source?
Yes. Moonlight is licensed under GPL-3.0 and rathole under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Moonlight and rathole with Docker?
Moonlight: check the project docs for container support. rathole: yes.