Best EmulationStation Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from game library managers ranked against EmulationStation on the same published basis.
- 1EmulationStation vs RetroArch
- 2EmulationStation vs RomM
- 3EmulationStation vs ES-DE Frontend
- 4EmulationStation vs Pegasus Frontend
- 5EmulationStation vs Yamata Launcher
- 6EmulationStation vs Attract-Mode
- 7EmulationStation vs Bezel
- 8EmulationStation vs Gaseous
- 9EmulationStation vs Heroic Games Launcher
- 10EmulationStation vs LaunchBox
- 11EmulationStation vs Batocera
- 12EmulationStation vs GOG Galaxy
- 13EmulationStation vs Lutris
- 14EmulationStation vs Playnite
- 15EmulationStation vs Daijishō
- 16EmulationStation vs OpenEmu
- 17EmulationStation vs SimpleOrgChart
- 18EmulationStation vs Forsaken
- 19EmulationStation vs Retrom
- 20EmulationStation vs Emulation Ninja
EmulationStation alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RetroArch | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 2 | RomM | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Android, API, iOS, Linux, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 3 | ES-DE Frontend | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 4 | Pegasus Frontend | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 5 | Yamata Launcher | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 6 | Attract-Mode | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 7 | Bezel | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 8 | Gaseous | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 9 | Heroic Games Launcher | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 10 | LaunchBox | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Android, Windows |
| 11 | Batocera | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 12 | GOG Galaxy | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Mac, Windows |
| 13 | Lutris | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Linux |
| 14 | Playnite | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
| 15 | Daijishō | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Android |
| 16 | OpenEmu | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Mac |
| 17 | SimpleOrgChart | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | self-hosted, Web |
| 18 | Forsaken | 5.8 | No | — | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 19 | Retrom | 5.7 | No | — | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 20 | Emulation Ninja | 5.5 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
Make your app an alternative to EmulationStation
See the priceThe sponsored alternative slot on this page is labelled Sponsored.
Questions about EmulationStation alternatives
What is the best alternative to EmulationStation?
RetroArch, number 1 in game library managers with a score of 6.8 out of 10. The others here: RomM, ES-DE Frontend, Pegasus Frontend and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to EmulationStation?
RetroArch is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 17 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.