Shadow PC vs Steam Link (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Steam Link grades higher than Shadow PC: 3.2 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Steam Link grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Shadow PC
A full Windows PC in the cloud for gaming and creative work
Steam Link
Stream Steam games from your PC to phones, TVs and other PCs
Which one is for you
Pick Shadow PC if
- Fits if you want a Windows gaming PC on a laptop or phone
- Works for monthly use with no long commitment
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you play often, since the cheapest plan is $29.99 and Lite caps at 120 hours a month
- Skip it if you want a trial first, as none is listed
- Watch out: peak-hour queue priority depends on your tier, from Lite to Premium
- Watch out: the vendor notes that not every game or app will run
- Watch out: businesses use a separate Cloud Workstations line with its own pricing
Pick Steam Link if
- Fits if you own games on Steam and want to play them on a TV, phone or laptop
- Works for couch co-op with Remote Play Together
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to administer a PC for support or unattended work, as it is not a general remote-access tool
- Watch out: it needs a computer running Steam as the host
- Tight if you play on a small screen, as the App Store reviews note games play worse there
- Watch out: quality depends on your network and device
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAShadow PCWeak | 3.2GPASteam LinkVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$29.99 a month for the cheapest plan, just under the $30 line where the category's dearest tenth begins. Neo Pro is $44.99 and Power Pro $59.99. | AThe app is free, with no plan or subscription to buy. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial is listed anywhere on the vendor pages. | AFree outright: the Steam Link app costs nothing and has no cap listed, though the host computer must run Steam and own the games. |
| Features | CA full Windows PC streamed to many devices, with team management on Pro. Monthly playtime and resolution limits apply, with 120 hours on Lite. | CIt does one job: streaming games, with PC-to-PC streaming, Remote Play Together and game controls. That is a smaller job than a full remote desktop. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. You install the client, sign in and stream, with nothing to set up. | BNo store rating on record. You install it and pair it with a Steam computer, which is a short setup. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android clients, with Steam, Epic and Battle.net. No API is listed. | BWindows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android are listed, tied to Steam. No API is listed. |
| Best for | a full Windows gaming PC streamed to your devices | streaming PC games to a phone, TV or laptop |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Shadow PC and Steam Link. How we grade
Price against what you get
Shadow PC starts at $29.99 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Steam Link has no paid plan and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Steam Link starts $29.99 a month lower. Of the other remote desktop apps on the chart, 5 score higher than Shadow PC for less, and none scores higher than Steam Link for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Shadow PC also covers AI agents.
At a glance
| Shadow PC | Steam Link | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free |
| Starts at | $29.99 per month, no commitment | Free |
| Free plan | None | The Steam Link app is free; it connects to a computer running Steam, which hosts the games you own. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Shadow | Valve Corporation |
| Price read from | shadow.tech | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Shadow PC
- Playtime is a fair-use cap that resets on the 1st of each month; Lite allows 120 hours.
- Peak-hour queue priority depends on the tier, from Lite to Premium.
- The vendor notes that not every game or app will run, flagged with an asterisk on its page.
- A separate Cloud Workstations line for businesses has its own pricing page.
Steam Link
- It needs a computer running Steam as the host, and it streams games rather than a full remote desktop session.
- It is not a general remote-access tool for managing a computer for support or unattended work.
- Quality depends on the network and the device; the App Store reviews note that games play worse on small screens.
- The listed platforms include Apple TV and Meta Quest, which this directory does not list as separate platforms.
Key features
Shadow PC
- A full Windows PC
- Install games from Steam, Epic or Battle.net, plus mods and your own software, instead of picking from a fixed library.
- Stream to many devices
- The download page lists apps for Windows, macOS, iOS and Android, and the site also offers a browser version and Android TV and Apple TV.
- Monthly playtime and session caps
- Lite plans allow 120 hours a month in sessions of up to 4 hours. Other plans list 210 hours, sessions of 6 to 8 hours and an Always On option.
- Resolution and monitor limits
- The comparison table shows 1440p at 60 Hz on the lightest tier and up to 5K at 240 Hz on the others, with 1 to 3 monitors.
- Team management on Pro
- Pro plans include a subscriptions and users manager, and a team suite adds roles, fleet management, IAM and centralized billing.
Steam Link
- Stream to many devices
- Valve lists iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, Android phones, tablets and TV, Amazon Fire TV, Raspberry Pi, Meta Quest, Windows, Linux and macOS.
- PC to PC streaming
- Log in to Steam on two computers and stream games from one Steam library to the other.
- Remote Play Together
- Share a local multiplayer game with Steam friends online, with each player on their own controller or sharing the keyboard and mouse.
- Controls tuned for games
- The page says control schemes are optimized for hundreds of top titles when playing on a phone or tablet.
- Play on lower-end hardware
- Demanding games run on the host PC, so a weaker device or an operating system without native support can still show them.
Plans
Shadow PC
Neo Lite$29.99
per month, no commitment
Up to 120 hours of playtime a month, sessions up to 4 hours, streaming in 1440p, 256 GB storage.
Neo$37.99
per month, no commitment
Streaming up to 1440p, multi-screen and ultrawide support, RTX and DLSS. The comparison table lists 210 hours a month.
Power Lite$43.99
per month, no commitment
Up to 50% more GPU power than Neo, 28 GB RAM and 20 GB VRAM, 120 hours a month, 4-hour sessions.
Neo Pro$44.99
per month, no commitment
For 3D and rendering: priority access, longer sessions and a subscriptions and users manager.
Power$54.99
per month, no commitment
Up to 50% more GPU power, 28 GB RAM and 20 GB VRAM, streaming up to 5K.
Power Pro$59.99
per month, no commitment
Power hardware with priority access, longer sessions, a users manager and installs of CUDA and RTX workflows.
Steam Link
Steam Link$0
Free app listed on the App Store. Remote Play Together is described as free on Valve's page.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Shadow PC or Steam Link?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Steam Link is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $29.99 a month for Shadow PC. Shadow PC starts at $29.99 per month, no commitment, and Steam Link is free.
Which has a free plan, Shadow PC or Steam Link?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Steam Link has a free plan. Shadow PC does not.
Which platforms do Shadow PC and Steam Link run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Shadow PC lists a web app. Both list macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.