Steam Link vs Moonlight: Best PC to Handheld Streaming Guide 2025

There is nothing quite like the comfort of your own bed on a chilly South African evening, especially when you can take your high-end PC gaming experience with you. If you are tired of sitting at a desk but refuse to compromise on graphics, local game streaming is the answer. Today, we settle the Steam Link vs Moonlight debate to see which software delivers the smoothest experience for your handheld in 2025.

The Basics: Why Stream Locally?

Before we dive into the software battle, let's clarify why you would do this. Local streaming allows your powerful desktop rig to render the game while beaming the video and audio to a portable device over your home network.

This means you can play Cyberpunk 2077 with full Ray Tracing on a handheld that, natively, might struggle to hit 30fps at those settings. It also saves massive amounts of battery life on your portable device since the heavy lifting is happening elsewhere.

Steam Link: The Plug-and-Play Contender 🎮

Valve’s solution is the default choice for millions, and for good reason. If you have Steam installed, you already have Steam Link.

The Pros:

• Ease of Use: It just works. No complex port forwarding or driver hunting required.
• Touch Controls: The on-screen touch controller customisation is unmatched.
• Remote Play: It transitions seamlessly from local Wi-Fi to 4G/5G if you have a decent fibre line at home.

The Cons:

• Latency: It can sometimes feel a bit "heavy" or sluggish compared to competitors.
• Visuals: Even on "Beautiful" settings, you might notice colour banding in dark scenes.

If you are a casual gamer who just wants to launch a game without tinkering, Steam Link is solid. However, for the enthusiasts chasing the lowest latency in the Steam Link vs Moonlight comparison, read on.

Moonlight: The Performance King 🚀

Moonlight is an open-source implementation of NVIDIA's GameStream protocol. Since NVIDIA discontinued the official feature, the community kept it alive through a host tool called "Sunshine."

The Pros:

• Incredible Bitrate: You can crank the bitrate up significantly higher than Steam Link, resulting in a crisp image that looks almost native.
• Low Latency: The input delay is practically non-existent on a good 5GHz network.
• HDR Support: It handles High Dynamic Range beautifully if your client device supports it.

The Cons:

• Setup: You need to install Sunshine on your host PC. It takes about 10 minutes to configure—a small price for performance.

Choosing the Right Client Hardware

Software is only half the battle. To get the most out of Moonlight or Steam Link, you need a device with a great screen and solid Wi-Fi chip. Fortunately, the current generation of handheld gaming consoles are perfect streaming clients.

If screen real estate is your priority, looking at specific Lenovo options like the Legion Go is a smart move. The larger 8.8-inch display makes text in RPGs readable, even when streamed from a desktop monitor resolution.

For those who prioritize smoothness and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) to eliminate screen tearing during those stream hiccups, the ASUS ROG Ally series remains a top-tier choice for streaming clients.

Alternatively, if you prefer Intel-based architecture and ergonomic grip, the MSI Claw is another strong contender that handles decoding high-bitrate streams effortlessly.

The Verdict

So, who wins the Steam Link vs Moonlight showdown in 2025?

If you want convenience and are playing slower-paced games like Baldur's Gate 3, Steam Link is perfectly adequate. However, if you are playing fast-paced shooters or want the best possible visual fidelity without compression artifacts, Moonlight (via Sunshine) is the undisputed champion. It requires a few minutes of setup, but the result is buttery smooth gaming that feels like magic.