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Parsec vs Moonlight
Which is the better remote desktop for Mac in 2026?
We compared Parsec and Moonlight across 5 key factors including price, open-source status, and community adoption. For most users in 2026, Moonlight is the better choice because it's open source. Read our full breakdown below.
Parsec
Ultra low latency remote desktop for gaming
Free
VS
Moonlight
Open source game streaming client
FreeOpen Source
Visual Comparison
Parsec
Parsec — Official Website
Moonlight
Moonlight — Official Website
Our Verdict
For most users in 2026, Moonlight is the better choice because it's open source. However, Parsec remains a solid option for users who prefer its unique features.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Parsec | Moonlight |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Open Source | No | Yes |
| Monthly Installs | N/A | N/A |
| GitHub Stars | N/A | N/A |
| Category | System Utilities | Media & Entertainment |
Quick Install
Parsec
brew install --cask parsecMoonlight
brew install --cask moonlightLearn More
In-Depth Overview
What is Parsec?
Parsec is a commercial remote desktop application purpose-built for ultra-low-latency, high-fidelity game streaming and professional content creation workflows that has fundamentally changed how people think about remote computing. Originally created by former game developers who wanted to play their PC games remotely from any device with virtually imperceptible input lag, Parsec has grown into a tool relied upon by major game studios (including Ubisoft and Square Enix), animation houses, video editing teams, and solo content creators who need to access powerful workstations remotely without any compromise in visual quality or input responsiveness. Parsec's defining technical innovation is its proprietary video codec and highly optimized rendering pipeline, which consistently delivers sub-16ms end-to-end latency on good networks—fast enough for competitive multiplayer gaming, frame-accurate video timeline scrubbing, and real-time 3D viewport manipulation in applications like Blender, Unreal Engine, and DaVinci Resolve. This extraordinary performance is achieved through hardware GPU encoding (NVENC on NVIDIA GPUs, AMF on AMD, VideoToolbox on Apple Silicon) that compresses the screen capture stream with minimal CPU overhead, combined with a custom UDP-based networking protocol specifically optimized for low-latency delivery over standard consumer internet connections. Parsec supports streaming at resolutions up to 4K at 60fps with 4:4:4 color subsampling (essential for sharp text rendering and color-accurate creative work), full gamepad and controller pass-through including vibration feedback, multi-monitor support with the ability to stream individual monitors or all displays simultaneously, and virtual display creation for headless machines. On macOS, Parsec functions primarily as a client for connecting to Windows or Linux host machines with hardware encoding capability, with limited Mac-to-Mac hosting support. The app is free for personal one-on-one connections with some quality limitations, and offers paid Warp ($8/month) and Teams ($30/user/month) plans that unlock 4:4:4 color, higher bitrate streaming, and centralized enterprise management with SAML SSO and usage analytics. The Teams plan also includes administrative tools for managing user access, monitoring usage across the organization, and enforcing streaming quality policies.
What is Moonlight?
Moonlight is a free, open-source game streaming client that implements NVIDIA's GameStream protocol, allowing you to stream games and applications from a PC with an NVIDIA GPU to virtually any device—macOS, iOS, Android, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, and even embedded systems like Raspberry Pi and Steam Deck. Created as a community-driven project (originally called 'Limelight'), Moonlight has evolved into the most popular open-source game streaming solution with an exceptionally polished client experience that rivals and often surpasses commercial alternatives in pure streaming quality. Moonlight's core technical advantage is its use of NVIDIA's GameStream protocol, which leverages the same NVENC hardware encoding technology that NVIDIA developed for their own Shield streaming ecosystem. This means the host PC uses NVIDIA's dedicated video encoding hardware to compress the screen capture with extremely low latency and high visual quality—the GPU does the heavy lifting, leaving the CPU free for actual game processing. Moonlight supports up to 4K resolution at 120fps (on supported displays and networks), HDR streaming with HDR10 and Dolby Vision support, hardware-accelerated decoding on the client side using VideoToolbox on macOS, extremely low latency that is competitive with and sometimes superior to Parsec depending on network conditions, and full gamepad pass-through with support for Xbox, PlayStation, and MFi controllers. Moonlight also supports multi-monitor streaming, mouse and keyboard input forwarding, clipboard sharing, and audio streaming including surround sound pass-through. The critical limitation of Moonlight is its host requirement: the streaming PC must have an NVIDIA GeForce, Quadro, or RTX GPU because it depends on NVIDIA's GameStream/NVENC protocol. AMD and Intel GPU users cannot use Moonlight as a host (though the community project Sunshine now provides a software-based alternative host that works with any GPU, significantly expanding compatibility). On macOS, Moonlight serves as a streaming client—you install it on your Mac to connect to and stream from a Windows PC with an NVIDIA GPU. The macOS client is well-optimized for Apple Silicon, leveraging VideoToolbox for hardware-accelerated H.264 and HEVC decoding with minimal CPU usage and excellent battery efficiency on MacBooks. Moonlight is completely free with no subscription, no usage limits, no feature restrictions, and no ads—every capability is available to every user.
Detailed Feature Comparison
GPU Compatibility
CriticalParsecExcellent
Parsec works with NVIDIA (NVENC), AMD (AMF), and Intel (Quick Sync) GPUs. It's GPU-agnostic, making it compatible with the widest range of hardware.
MoonlightGood
Moonlight natively requires an NVIDIA GeForce GPU for the GameStream protocol. With Sunshine (open-source host), it can work with AMD and Intel GPUs, though the NVIDIA path is most reliable.
Verdict: Parsec works with any GPU out of the box. Moonlight requires NVIDIA or the Sunshine workaround.
Streaming Quality
CriticalParsecExcellent
Parsec delivers excellent visual quality with sub-16ms latency, adaptive bitrate, and 4K@60fps support. The stream is nearly indistinguishable from local display in good network conditions.
MoonlightExcellent
Moonlight's NVIDIA GameStream integration often delivers marginally better visual quality than Parsec on NVIDIA hardware, with support for up to 4K@120fps and HDR. NVENC's optimized pipeline produces exceptional results.
Verdict: Moonlight's direct NVENC pipeline delivers slightly better quality and supports higher framerates (120fps vs 60fps).
Price
HighParsecGood
Free for personal use (1080p@60fps). Parsec Warp ($9.99/month) for 4K and advanced features. Parsec for Teams ($30/user/month) for enterprise.
MoonlightExcellent
Completely free and open source. No premium tiers, no subscriptions, no feature limitations. 4K@120fps and HDR are available to everyone at zero cost.
Verdict: Moonlight is 100% free with all features. Parsec's free tier is limited and premium features require subscription.
Multi-User / Collaborative Play
MediumParsecExcellent
Parsec Arcade allows multiple users to connect to the same host simultaneously for collaborative or competitive local co-op gaming over the internet. Each player connects their own gamepad.
MoonlightPoor
Moonlight is designed for single-user streaming. It doesn't support multiple simultaneous connections to the same host for collaborative play.
Verdict: Parsec's multi-user collaborative play is a unique feature not available in Moonlight.
HDR Support
MediumParsecFair
Parsec Warp ($9.99/month) adds HDR streaming support. Not available on the free tier.
MoonlightExcellent
Moonlight supports HDR streaming for free on compatible NVIDIA GPUs. HDR passthrough works well with supported displays.
Verdict: Moonlight offers free HDR; Parsec requires a paid subscription.
Client Platform Support
MediumParsecExcellent
Clients available for Windows, macOS (Apple Silicon native), Linux, Android, and web browsers. The macOS client is well-optimized.
MoonlightExcellent
Clients for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, ChromeOS, Raspberry Pi, and more. The open-source nature has produced clients for almost every platform imaginable.
Verdict: Moonlight has slightly broader client support including iOS and embedded devices like Raspberry Pi.
Ease of Setup
HighParsecExcellent
Install Parsec on host and client, create an account, and connect. Works over the internet with NAT traversal. No additional software or configuration needed.
MoonlightGood
Requires GeForce Experience or Sunshine on the host. Pairing involves entering a PIN. Local network streaming is seamless, but internet streaming requires port forwarding or VPN setup.
Verdict: Parsec is easier to set up, especially for internet streaming without port forwarding.
Open Source
MediumParsecPoor
Parsec is proprietary software owned by Unity Technologies. Source code is not available.
MoonlightExcellent
Moonlight is fully open source (GPL-3.0). All client and host (Sunshine) code is available on GitHub. The community actively contributes improvements.
Verdict: Moonlight's open-source nature provides transparency, community contributions, and long-term sustainability.
Who Should Choose Which?
1The NVIDIA GPU Owner
Moonlight
If you have an NVIDIA GPU, Moonlight delivers the best streaming quality for free. It's the optimal choice for your hardware.
2The AMD GPU Owner
Parsec
Parsec works natively with AMD's AMF encoder. Moonlight requires Sunshine as a workaround, which is less polished.
3The Local Co-op Gamer
Parsec
Parsec Arcade's multi-user connections enable online local co-op—friends connect their own controllers for collaborative play.
4The Mobile Gamer
Moonlight
Moonlight's iOS, Android, and Raspberry Pi clients are excellent. Stream your PC games to your phone, tablet, or handheld device for free.
5The Setup Simplicity Seeker
Parsec
Parsec's one-click internet streaming without port forwarding is the easiest setup for remote gaming.
Migration Guide
Parsec → Moonlight
If you have an NVIDIA GPU and want to try Moonlight's free streaming, install GeForce Experience on your host PC and enable GameStream. Install Moonlight on your Mac from moonlight-stream.org. Pair the devices using the PIN system. You may notice slightly better visual quality at the same bitrate settings due to NVENC's optimized encoding pipeline. You'll lose Parsec's cloud-based account system and virtual display creation, but gain free 4K@120fps and HDR streaming.
Moonlight → Parsec
If you've switched to an AMD GPU or need Parsec's professional features, install Parsec on both machines and create an account. The transition is straightforward—Parsec handles GPU detection and codec selection automatically. You'll gain AMD/Intel GPU support and Parsec's polished dashboard, but may notice slightly different visual characteristics at comparable bitrate settings.
Pro Tips
Many gamers run both: Moonlight for dedicated gaming sessions at home (leveraging NVIDIA's optimized encoding) and Parsec for quick remote access, professional use, and connecting from networks where Moonlight's GameStream discovery doesn't work. The two tools coexist without conflict.
Final Verdict
Overall Winner
Parsec
8.5/10
Winner
9/10
Runner-up
The choice between Parsec and Moonlight depends primarily on your host GPU and priorities. If you have an NVIDIA GPU, Moonlight delivers the best streaming quality available—leveraging NVIDIA's own GameStream/NVENC technology for exceptional visual fidelity, support for up to 4K@120fps with HDR, and competitive latency—all completely free. Parsec is the more versatile and polished overall product with GPU-agnostic support, a better user interface, professional enterprise features, and cross-platform hosting capabilities. For pure game streaming quality with an NVIDIA GPU, Moonlight edges ahead; for everything else—AMD GPU support, professional use, enterprise management, ease of setup—Parsec wins.
Bottom Line: Choose Moonlight for the best free game streaming with an NVIDIA GPU host. Choose Parsec for GPU-agnostic compatibility, professional features, and a more polished cross-platform experience. Both deliver exceptional game streaming quality to your Mac.
Video Tutorials
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, with Sunshine—an open-source GameStream host that supports NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel GPUs. However, the NVIDIA + GeForce Experience path is more polished and reliable.
About the Author
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Related Technologies & Concepts
NVIDIA GameStreamSunshineNVENCUnity TechnologiesCarnegie Mellon UniversityGeForce ExperienceSteam LinkAMF
NVIDIA GameStream (NVIDIA's streaming protocol that Moonlight implements.), Sunshine (Open-source GameStream host that enables Moonlight with non-NVIDIA GPUs.), NVENC (NVIDIA's hardware encoder used by both applications.), Unity Technologies (Company that acquired Parsec in 2021.), Carnegie Mellon University (Where Moonlight was originally developed as a student project.), GeForce Experience (NVIDIA's companion app that provides the GameStream server for Moonlight.), Steam Link (Valve's competing game streaming solution.), AMF (AMD's hardware encoder supported by Parsec.)
Related Topics
Sources & References
Fact-CheckedLast verified: Feb 15, 2026
Key Verified Facts
- Moonlight supports up to 4K@120fps streaming.[cite-moonlight-github]
- Parsec was acquired by Unity Technologies in 2021.[cite-parsec-unity]
- Moonlight was originally developed at Carnegie Mellon University.[cite-moonlight-github]
- Sunshine enables Moonlight streaming from non-NVIDIA GPUs.[cite-sunshine-github]
- 1Moonlight Game Streaming GitHub
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
- 2Unity Acquires Parsec
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
- 3Sunshine Game Stream Host
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
- 4Parsec Features
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
- 5Moonlight Official Site
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
Research queries: Parsec vs Moonlight game streaming 2026; Moonlight 4K 120fps; Parsec Warp pricing; Sunshine GameStream host