Steam Link vs Sunshine (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Steam Link grades higher than Sunshine: 3.2 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Steam Link grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Steam Link
Stream Steam games from your PC to phones, TVs and other PCs
Free
Which one is for you
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
Pick Sunshine if
- Fits if you want free game streaming from your own PC using Moonlight
- Works for people comfortable with setting up ports and encoders themselves
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need a client, as Sunshine is a host only and needs Moonlight
- Not for you if you want support sessions or unattended admin, since it targets game streaming
- Watch out: the README says its hardware requirement tables are unfinished and should not drive purchases
- Watch out: gamepad support is partial on FreeBSD, and macOS needs a separately licensed Virtual HID Broker
How we grade them
| 3.2GPASteam LinkVery good | 2.6GPASunshineGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe app is free, with no plan or subscription to buy. | AFree and open source under GPL-3.0, with no cloud subscription, and you run it on your own PC. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright: the Steam Link app costs nothing and has no cap listed, though the host computer must run Steam and own the games. | AFree outright with no cap listed, and no account or cloud service to pay for. |
| Features | 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. | DIt is a host only: you also need a Moonlight client to use it, so it needs another product to be useful. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. You install it and pair it with a Steam computer, which is a short setup. | CNo store rating on record. It has a browser-based management page, but you configure encoders, ports and pairing yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWindows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android are listed, tied to Steam. No API is listed. | CHosts run on Windows, macOS and Linux, and clients come through Moonlight. No phone host or web client is listed. |
| Best for | streaming PC games to a phone, TV or laptop | a free game-stream host for your own PC |
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: Steam Link and Sunshine. How we grade
Price against what you get
Steam Link has no paid plan and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Sunshine has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
Steam Link scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other remote desktop apps on the chart, none scores higher than Steam Link for less, and none scores higher than Sunshine 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
- Sunshine is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
In commonFree planWindowsmacOSLinuxRemote desktop
At a glance
| Steam Link | Sunshine | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | The Steam Link app is free; it connects to a computer running Steam, which hosts the games you own. | Free and open source with no cloud subscription; released under the GPL-3.0 license. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Valve Corporation | LizardByte |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | sunshine.lizardbyte.dev |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Sunshine
- It is a host only; you also need a Moonlight client on the device you play on.
- The README warns that its hardware requirement tables are a work in progress and should not drive purchases.
- Gamepad support is partial on FreeBSD, and macOS needs a separately licensed Virtual HID Broker for emulated pads.
- It targets game streaming, not support sessions or unattended administration of other people's computers.
Key features
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.
Sunshine
- Hardware encoding
- Streams with AMD, Intel or NVIDIA hardware encoding for low latency, with software encoding available on all supported systems.
- Works with Moonlight clients
- Sunshine is the host half of the pair; you install a Moonlight client on a laptop, phone, TV or handheld and pair it.
- Browser-based management
- A web interface lets you choose applications, adjust streaming settings and pair devices, from the host or from a mobile device.
- Gamepad emulation
- The README lists emulation of generic, DualShock, DualSense, Switch Pro and Xbox controllers, with limits on FreeBSD and macOS.
- Several host systems
- The site lists Windows, Linux, macOS and FreeBSD hosts, each with its own supported capture and encoding methods.
Plans
Steam Link
Steam Link$0
Free app listed on the App Store. Remote Play Together is described as free on Valve's page.
Sunshine
Sunshine$0
Free and open source, run on your own hardware. The site has a Donate link for voluntary support.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Steam Link or Sunshine?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Steam Link and Sunshine are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Steam Link or Sunshine?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Steam Link and Sunshine have a free plan.
Which platforms do Steam Link and Sunshine run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Steam Link lists iOS and Android apps. Both list macOS, Windows and Linux 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.