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Moonlight

Stream PC Games to Any Screen Free — Moonlight

Stream PC games to your phone or TV with near-zero latency — free and open source.

v6.1.0
Sep 2024
WindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOSFreeOpen Source

NVIDIA GameStream let GTX and RTX users stream games from their gaming PC to other devices over a local network. NVIDIA shut down GameStream in 2023, but the open-source community had already built an independent implementation. Moonlight is that client — it connects to the Sunshine game server (or legacy GameStream hosts) and streams your full gaming PC to phones, tablets, TVs, other PCs, or a Raspberry Pi.

The streaming pipeline is genuinely good. Moonlight uses hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, or AV1 decoding on the client device, which keeps CPU usage minimal and allows smooth streaming even on underpowered devices. HDR passthrough, 7.1 surround sound, up to 4K at 120fps, and sub-10ms latency on a good local network make this a practical way to play graphically demanding games on a phone or bring your entire PC library to the living room TV.

Compared to Parsec, which requires creating an account and routes traffic through company servers, Moonlight is purely peer-to-peer with no registration required. Steam Remote Play limits you to Steam games; Moonlight streams your entire desktop and any launcher. Xbox Cloud Gaming requires a Game Pass subscription and runs games in the cloud rather than on your own hardware.

Setup takes about ten minutes: install Sunshine on your gaming PC, pair Moonlight on the client device, and you're streaming. Apps are available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and Apple TV. GPL-3.0 licensed, no account required, no subscription, no data sent to third-party servers.

Related Tools

  • Playnite — Organize your entire game library in one launcher before streaming it to any screen with Moonlight
  • Heroic Games Launcher — Launch Epic and GOG games on your host PC to stream them to any device via Moonlight

FAQ

Is Moonlight free?+
Yes, Moonlight is completely free and open source under the GPL-3.0 license. There are no paid tiers, no subscriptions, and no account required. You need a PC with an NVIDIA GPU (or any GPU with Sunshine installed) and a local network connection.
How to stream PC games to TV for free?+
Install Sunshine on your gaming PC and Moonlight on your streaming device (phone, TV box, or another PC). Connect them on the same network, enter the PIN to pair, and start streaming. The entire setup takes about 10 minutes and works at up to 4K 120fps.
Best free alternative to Parsec for game streaming?+
Moonlight is the best free alternative to Parsec. Unlike Parsec, Moonlight requires no account and routes traffic peer-to-peer rather than through company servers. It's open source and works on more platforms including iOS and Apple TV.
Moonlight vs Steam Remote Play — which is better?+
Steam Remote Play only streams Steam games and requires both devices to be logged into Steam. Moonlight streams your entire desktop — any game, any launcher, any application. Moonlight also has better codec support (AV1, HEVC) and works on more devices including iOS. Use Moonlight for flexibility, Steam Remote Play if you only play Steam games.