Gone are the days when you were forced to stay in whatever room your PC was in until you were done with gaming for the day.
Thanks to game streaming apps like Moonlight and Steam Link, you can now take your games wherever you go and stream them on any device you want.
While there is no disputing that Steam Link and Moonlight are two of the biggest names in their niche and industry, you may be wondering which platform has more value to offer you.
Do the apps offer similar functions or is one more advanced than the other? Are there unique downsides to using either of them?
Well, I’m going to answer all these questions in this article comparing Moonlight and Keyboard head-to-head. I’ll analyze their core features, benefits, and disadvantages which will help you determine which option is best for you.
Let’s begin.
What is Moonlight?
Moonlight is an open source implementation of NVIDIA’s Gamestream client that lets you play all your favorite PC games on a variety of devices.
This means you can still stream your PC games on your smartphone, TV, and other supported electronic devices whether you’re in a different room or miles apart from your gaming rig.
Moonlight allows you to stream games remotely and play on the go without having to download game titles from scratch or put up with poor graphics quality.
All you need to get started is the Moonlight app and fast internet connections for your PC and the client platform or device to which you want to stream the games.
Best of all, you don’t have to pay to use Moonlight because the software is open source and free to use. You can install it on as many devices and clients as you want.
Depending on the device you’re using to stream games remotely via Moonlight you can control your games using your touchscreen or a compatible gamepad.
What is Steam Link?
Steam Link is an app created by Valve Corporation that allows you to remotely stream Steam games from your PC to other devices including TVs, mobile phones, or even another PC.
You need to have a strong internet connection or a local network—ideally WiFi, 5G, or wired ethernet—that supports the host PC and the streaming device.
Once you’re connected to a computer that’s running Steam, you can play the game you want using built-in touchscreen controls on the screening device.
Alternatively, you can use a Bluetooth controller that’s compatible with the streaming device and Steam Link.
Steam Link effectively mirrors the experience of gaming on your standard rig to the selected device.
Your controller input and the game’s video and audio data will be automatically transmitted from your gaming PC to Steam Link, so the experience feels as natural as possible.
The Steam Link app is an update on the original Steam Link design, physical hardware that you could connect to your host PC via HDMI to stream games over the web.
The Steam Link Hardware was phased out in November 2018 because the app provided a more convenient gaming experience.
However, if you can get your hands on the Steam Link hardware, you can still use it in place of the app to access your Steam games collection remotely.
Explore the best alternatives to Steam Link here.
Moonlight vs Steam Link – Hardware specifications
What requirements do your devices need to have to successfully run either program?
Moonlight
Since Moonlight is built on NVIDIA’s protocol, you can only run the app on a host PC that uses NVIDIA graphic cards.
So if your PC’s graphics are Intel or AMD-based, you unfortunately won’t be able to take advantage of Moonlight to enhance your gaming experience.
Here are the specifications your hardware needs to meet for Moonlight to work:
- A host computer running Windows 7 or newer
- An NVIDIA Quadro graphics card (Kepler or later)
- An NVIDIA GeForce GTX or RTX graphics card (600-series or later that’s not a part of the GT series)
- The NVIDIA GeForce Experience app or Quadro Experience app for Quadro cards installed
- A minimum of 720p display or a headless display dongle directly connected to your NVIDIA GPU
- An upload speed of 5Mbps or higher
If you’ll be streaming in HDR, you’re also going to need:
- An HDR display or HDR10-compatible EDIS emulator dongle
- An NVIDIA GeForce GTX/RTX 1000-series or later
Keep in mind that your computer will also need to meet the requirements for each game. Otherwise, you won’t be able to play the game even with Moonlight backing your streaming efforts.
Steam Link
Although Steam Link doesn’t require you to use a specific type of graphics card it does have its own hardware specifications.
To get the Steam Link app to work for you without any hindrances, here are the requirements your hardware needs to meet:
- A PC running SteamOS or Steam Big Picture Mode on Mac OS X 20.10 (Yosemite) or newer, Windows Vista or newer, Linux Ubuntu 12.4 or newer
- A steam controller or any other supported gamepad
- The Steam Link hardware or a device capable of running the Steam Link app
- Home network connectivity to both the host PC and Steam Link
Verdict
It’s a tie. Moonlight and Steam Link have different hardware requirements because of the protocols they’re built on.
Also Read: Best Free Games Like Jackbox
Steam Link vs Moonlight – Set up and Ease of Use
How easy is it to set up Moonlight or Steam Link? Which app is easier to use?
Steam Link
Valve designed the Steam Link app to be simple to set up and navigate so you should have no trouble implementing the software regardless of the devices you use.
The first step of the setup process is to install and run the Steam Link app on the device you want to stream to while running the latest version of Steam on your host PC.
If you want to stream to a Mac or Windows computer, you need to install Steam on it too.
For mobile device streams, you just have to open the settings on the Steam Link app on your phone and choose “Other Computer.” You’ll be given a PIN to enter into your gaming computer to pair both devices.
Finally, you will have to go to the Steam app on your desktop, head to the Remote Play menu and click “Pair Steam Link” then enter the code you see into your phone.
Once pairing is complete, you can pick the game you want and start streaming it using your local network. Or you can activate the remote play feature to stream over the internet.
If you’re streaming to another PC, there’s no need to pair them to stream games at home. Just log into your account on the same network and you will be good to go.
You can check out Steam’s support pages for elaborate instructions on how to set up and troubleshoot Steam Link.
Also Read: Best PS4/PS5 Controllers For Windows PC
Moonlight
Getting Moonlight up and running on your host PC and clients is pretty straightforward. Like Steam Link, it allows you to stream games in-home over the same network or remotely over the internet.
To set up the app on your Windows PC and Android device, you just have to install the GeForce Experience/Quadro Experience software if you don’t have it already.
Run the software, go to Settings> Shield, and toggle the GameStream button on, then download, install, and launch the Moonlight host app on your system. Enter the code you receive on your PC to pair it with the NVIDIA GeForce/Quadro Experience service.
Ensure that your host PC and your Android device (client) are connected to the same network, then download and install the Android version of the Moonlight app.
Launch the app on your device and wait a few seconds for it to recognize your host PC. Once this happens, you can click on the image that is displayed. You’ll be sent a PIN to enter into your PC to pair it with your Android.
You can begin streaming games from your host PC to your Android right away. The same process applies to other clients you may want to use Moonlight on.
You can also equip your host PC and client to stream remotely without being connected to the same network.
Moonlight has a detailed guide that you can consult if you require assistance setting up the app for your preferred host and client platform.
Or, if you want to learn how to use Moonlight to stream over the internet, stream your entire desktop, add custom programs, or troubleshoot common issues you may experience.
Verdict
It’s a tie. It’s pretty easy to set up and use both Steam Link and Moonlight. Both platforms also provide comprehensive user guides to aid the process.
Also Read: Best GeForce NOW Alternatives
Moonlight vs Steam Link – Performance
What can you expect from the Moonlight and Steam Link app in terms of stream quality and overall gaming experience?
Moonlight
With the Moonlight app, you can stream games or your entire desktop at up to 120 frames per second (FPS) in 4K with high-definition resolution (HDR). The results it delivers are close to, and in some cases, better than the native PC experience.
Steam Link, however, has a shorter ceiling and taps out at 60 frames per second. This means that you will enjoy smoother, richer-feeling high-fresh streaming in your games.
Although the quality of the graphics maintains the usual standard for still scenes when using Moonlight, the image degraded slightly for motion frames.
However, Moonlight offers a high refresh mode that you can use to reduce motion blur and improve the image quality.
Steam Link
The secret to getting an impressive performance out of your Steam Link is to ensure you’re using a solid network connection.
According to Valve, Steam Link is equipped to stream at a resolution of 1080p at 60 frames per second, over a 5 GHz network and enjoy good quality for most scenes.
However, if you’re using advanced gaming hardware and clients, you have the potential to stream games in 4K resolution at 60 frames per second.
Steam Link allows you to choose between three qualities for your game streams: Beautiful, Balanced, and Fast. With Beautiful, you will get optimal video compression as long as you have a stable connection of 30Mbps.
Balanced delivers decent compression at 15Mbps while Fast will heavily compress the stream at 10Mbps, which is great if the connection in your house is spotty.
The game audio over Steam Link is clear and booming, and it doesn’t lag behind the gameplay. Also, there’s not much change in the quality of the video rendering and graphics so gameplay still looks and feels as natural as playing on your main rig.
Verdict
I declare a draw.
Depending on the strength of your network connection and the rendering and compression quality you choose to use, you may get more from one app than the other at different times. And vice versa.
Also Read: Steam Alternatives For PC Gaming
Steam Link vs Moonlight – Versatility
Before you decide which app to use, you’ll want to know if there are any limitations to the type of games you can stream. Let’s find out.
Steam Link
When using the Steam Link app, you can only play games from your Steam library because it was designed to be integrated with the Steam gaming platform.
Steam Link gives you access to the collection of Steam games that you already own or want to buy. It then allows you to stream these games on your different devices without having to reinstall the titles on each client.
However, you can add non-Steam games to your library manually in just a few steps to enable you to play them. The only problem with this is the streaming quality might not be as great as what you’d get from native Steam games.
Also, digital rights management (DRM) issues might prevent you from streaming some Steam games that you already own. In such cases, Steam Link will display a black screen on the client platform instead of loading the game properly.
Moonlight
One of Moonlight’s most attractive features is its ability to stream any game as long as you already own it on your PC. And also as long as your hardware configurations support the game you want to play.
You’re not restricted to a certain cloud catalog or gaming platform. With Moonlight, you can stream games from any source and play them on any device or client you like. The only requirement is that the game needs to be installed on your host PC.
So instead of streaming games from Microsoft. Amazon or Steam’s servers directly and paying a new fee for each new device, you can simply stream from the collection of games already on your PC.
Verdict
The win goes to Moonlight because it supports the streaming of games from all types of sources and publishers.
Moonlight vs Steam Link – Supported Platforms
Which clients and devices can you use Steam Link and Moonlight on?
Moonlight
The beauty of the Moonlight app is that you can use it across a wide range of devices so you won’t have to carry your gaming rig with you everywhere you go.
You can leave it at home and continue streaming the PC game you want from your office, hotel room, or wherever.
The platforms supported by Moonlight include:
- Android phones, tablets, TV
- iPhone, iPad, Apple TV
- Amazon tablets
- Windows, Mac, Linux
- Chrome OS-based systems
- Raspberry Pi 4
- Steam Link devices
You can also run Moonlight if you have homebrew-enabled versions of the following client platforms:
- Nintendo Wii U
- Sony PS Vita
- LG webOS TVs
- Single-board computers
Also Read: Best Websites Like Miniclip
Steam Link
Steam Link is available for free for all major platforms and devices including:
- Windows, Linux, Mac
- iPhone, iPad, Apple TV
- Android phones, tablets, and TV
- Samsung Smart TV
- Raspberry Pi 3, 3+, and 4
So if you use any of these platforms you can easily stream your games on them from your host PC without breaking a sweat.
This saves you the trouble of having to download the same game on different devices or starting afresh every time you switch to another device.
Verdict
Moonlight claims a narrow victory here because it supports a broader range of platforms compared to Steam Link.
Steam Link vs Moonlight – Latency
Lower latency means reduced delay times, so you can get immediate responses to any gaming interactions you make. Let’s find out how both game streaming clients measure up on this point.
Steam Link
You can expect to see latency of around 20 ms when streaming games via the Steam Link app. When analyzed one-on-one, the contrast between Steam Link and Moonlight on the latency front wasn’t palpable.
Moonlight
Moonlight remiss Latency within the 20 ms range, which is superior to the latency of 150-200 ms offered by most Google Stadia titles.
What’s more, you can turn off Moonlight’s V-Sync function to further refine your videos and graphics to achieve the lowest possible latency.
You may find that there isn’t much of a latency difference between Moonlight and Steam Link when tested against a native mouse or keyboard experience in a neutral environment.
Verdict
It’s a tie. Any difference between the latency of both apps is negligible.
Also Read: Best Games To Play When Bored
Similarities and Differences
| Category | Moonlight | Steam Link |
|---|---|---|
| Design and set up | The app is easy to set up and the user interface is friendly. | Simple to install, activate, and navigate. |
| Remote play | Supports both in-home and remote gaming. | Works for streaming games in-home or over the internet. |
| Group streaming services | Doesn’t currently support streaming to multiple clients at the same time from one host PC. | You can invite your friends to join your gameplay with their own controllers using your PC as the host. |
| Supported game sources | Moonlight accepts and works seamlessly with games from any source. | Stream Link allows you to manually add games from your hard drive, but it performs best when used to stream Steam games. |
| Compatible client platforms | Works for various types of devices from phones to smart TVs and gaming consoles. | Supports all the major platforms and devices. |
Pros and Cons
Moonlight
Pros
- Automatically adjusts streaming quality to suit your network conditions so you can enjoy uninterrupted gaming.
- Effortless streaming process.
- Can stream your entire desktop
Cons
- Hardware limitations render Moonlight incompatible with PCs without an NVIDIA GPU or devices that do not support GameStream.
Steam Link
Pros
- Seamless integration with the Steam gaming service.
- Native support for Steam Controllers.
- Allows you to create gaming sessions with your friends and play the games you have, even if they do not have any copies of the games.
Cons
- Non-Steam fans may find the platform too restricting for their tastes.
- Requires generous network conditions to perform optimally.
Also Read: Best Google Games To Play
Moonlight vs Steam Link – Final Verdict
Both Steam Link and Moonlight deliver brilliant in-home and remote playing experiences that match or surpass the native experience.
The answer to which one is the better platform for you depends on your gaming preferences, specific requirements, and hardware setup.
For high refresh game streaming, client platform versatility, and native support for multiple gaming services, Moonlight is an excellent choice.
If hassle-free integration with your Steam library and multiplayer capabilities are your main priority, you can’t go wrong with Steam Link.
