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Sunshine

Open-source host for streaming games from your PC to Moonlight apps on phones, TVs and other computers

Visit github.com

Our verdict

#1 of 3 in Apps for streaming games from your PC · For the best picture and games from any launcher

Pros

  • Open source under GPL-3.0, both the host and the Moonlight apps
  • Runs on Windows, Linux and FreeBSD hosts

Cons

  • Playing away from home means opening router ports or setting up a VPN yourself
  • Its docs describe pairing each device by PIN on your PC, and no invite link or friends list for guests
  • Hosting on macOS is experimental, and gamepads don't work there

Who should skip:Mac owners who want to host games with a controller.

Read the full review →

Rankings and alternatives

Apps for streaming games from your own PC scores

Evaluated Nov 7, 2026 Evidence ↓
  • Devices you can play on 5

    5/5 means: Ten or more kinds

    Moonlight, the client Sunshine streams to, lists apps or community ports for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone and iPad, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromebooks, Raspberry Pi, Xbox, Switch, PS Vita and Wii U, and LG webOS and Tizen TVs, which is 11 of the counted kinds of device.

  • Computers you can stream from 5

    5/5 means: Four or more operating systems

    Sunshine lists requirements for Windows, Linux, macOS and FreeBSD hosts; macOS is documented as experimental, without gamepads.

  • Picture quality options 5

    5/5 means: All seven options

    All seven options are documented with Moonlight clients. HEVC and AV1, HDR, YUV 4:4:4, up to 4K and up to 120 FPS, and an option to change the host's resolution to the one the client requests.

  • Playing away from home 3

    3/5 means: Over the internet through automatic port opening on your router (UPnP), IPv6 or a VPN you set up, with no connection service of its own

    Internet streaming works through Sunshine's UPnP option, which opens router ports automatically, or through port forwarding, IPv6 or a virtual network such as Tailscale or ZeroTier. There is no connection service of its own.

  • Playing with friends 2

    2/5 means: Another person's device can connect once you pair or approve it on the host, with no invite link or friends list and no per-guest input settings

    Another device connects after it is paired with a PIN entered in Sunshine's web interface. The documentation describes no invite link, friends list or per-guest input settings.

    Rests partly on what the sources don't mention, which is a weaker signal than what they say.

  • Accounts and outside servers 5

    5/5 means: No account, and no documented part for the developer's servers; you pair your devices with each other

    No account is involved; clients pair with the host through Sunshine's web interface, and internet play runs over your own port forwarding, UPnP or VPN rather than a service of the developers.

  • Cost 4

    4/5 means: Free, with one or two streaming features only in a paid plan or add-on

    Sunshine and Moonlight are free and open source, but on Windows hosts full virtual gamepad support (Xbox One and Series, DualSense, Switch Pro controllers) needs the separately licensed Virtual HID Driver; the free fallback emulates Xbox 360 and DualShock 4 controllers only.

  • Graphics hardware on the host 5

    5/5 means: Hardware encoders from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel, plus software encoding on any host

    Hardware encoding on AMD, Intel and NVIDIA graphics, and software encoding on any host.

  • What you can stream 5

    5/5 means: The whole desktop, plus a list you can fill with any game or app and start from the receiving device

    The built-in Desktop entry streams the whole desktop, and you can add any game or app to the list that Moonlight shows and starts from the receiving device.

Evidence and sources

Apps for streaming games from your own PC scores

Devices you can play on 6 quotes
  • “If you have an Android device, iOS device, Apple TV, PC or Mac, Chromebook, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, Wii U, Raspberry Pi, or even a LG webOS or Tizen OS TV, you can use Moonlight to stream games to it.”
    moonlight-stream.org · checked
  • “Stream to Xbox One and Xbox Series S|X Consoles (Community Port)”
    moonlight-stream.org · checked
  • “Stream to Windows, MacOS, Linux, Steam Link devices, and Raspberry Pi 4”
    moonlight-stream.org · checked
  • “Amazon FireOS”
    moonlight-stream.org · checked
  • “Stream to a LG webOS TV in Developer Mode (Community port)”
    moonlight-stream.org · checked
  • “Stream to a Tizen OS TV (Community port)”
    moonlight-stream.org · checked
Computers you can stream from 5 quotes
Picture quality options 8 quotes
Show all 8
Playing away from home 3 quotes
Playing with friends 2 quotes
Accounts and outside servers 4 quotes
  • “You can connect to Sunshine from any Moonlight client on a variety of devices. A web UI is provided to allow configuration, and client pairing, from your favorite web browser.”
    docs.lizardbyte.dev/projects/sunshine/latest · checked
  • “You can host your own gaming server on many residential ISPs using port forwarding, IPv6, software-defined virtual networks (ZeroTier, Tailscale, NordVPN Meshnet), and more.”
    moonlight-stream.org · checked
  • “Moonlight is a project run by the community, not a company. We have no interest in pushing ads, bundled services, paid versions with extra features, or subscriptions.”
    moonlight-stream.org · checked
  • “When Moonlight requests for you insert the pin:”
    docs.lizardbyte.dev/projects/sunshine/latest/md_docs_2getting__started.html · checked
Cost 4 quotes
Graphics hardware on the host 1 quote
  • “Sunshine is a self-hosted game stream host for Moonlight. Offering low-latency, cloud gaming server capabilities with support for AMD, Intel, and Nvidia GPUs for hardware encoding. Software encoding is also available.”
    docs.lizardbyte.dev/projects/sunshine/latest · checked
What you can stream 2 quotes

Facts

License 1 quote
Runs on 5 quotes
Needs 2 quotes
  • “You can connect to Sunshine from any Moonlight client on a variety of devices. A web UI is provided to allow configuration, and client pairing, from your favorite web browser.”
    docs.lizardbyte.dev/projects/sunshine/latest · checked
  • “An open-source host made from the ground up for Moonlight, Sunshine is the recommended host to start streaming with Moonlight.”
    moonlight-stream.org · checked

Notability

Users 1 quote

Other quotes

Not cited by a score or fact 8 quotes
Show all 8