Instead of MAME
MAME alternatives
MAME covers arcade machines alongside vintage computers, consoles, calculators and other electronic amusement hardware, with more than 32,000 individual systems represented. Its debugger, Lua interface, plugins, state saving, input recording and image or video capture serve both preservation and software investigation. It is free and runs on Android, Linux, macOS and Windows. MAME generally does not include BIOS dumps or copyrighted software, and some systems may emulate imperfectly or run below full speed. Its Lua API may also change without notice.
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Foxol
Free plan AndroidiPhoneLinux+3Cross-device classic-game play and multiplayer — Foxol adds cross-device cloud saves, remote co-op, local multiplayer, and game tools, while focusing on a specified set of systems.
Free plan Visit site - 2
RetroArch
Free plan AndroidiPhoneLinux+3A unified frontend for many emulator and media cores — RetroArch organizes more than 200 emulator, game-engine, game, and multimedia cores in a unified settings frontend.
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Virtual Jaguar
Free plan Open source AndroidAPIiPhone+5Atari Jaguar cartridge and CD emulation — Virtual Jaguar focuses on Atari Jaguar cartridges and CDs as a RetroArch core, with embedded BIOS images and Jaguar link emulation.
Free plan Visit site - 4
SkyEmu
Free plan Open source AndroidiPhoneLinux+3Game Boy through Nintendo DS emulation — SkyEmu targets four Nintendo handheld systems and adds a local WebAssembly app, scripting API, and Google Drive save-state sync.
Free plan Visit site - 5
VICE
Free plan AndroidLinuxMac+1Commodore 8-bit computer emulation — VICE concentrates on Commodore 8-bit computers, with cycle-accuracy aims, detailed C64 video and sound, and external disk-drive support.
Free plan Visit site - 6
XRoar
Free plan AndroidLinuxMac+2Dragon and Tandy 8-bit computer emulation — XRoar focuses on Dragon, Tandy CoCo, MC-10, and related computers, with cassette, floppy, and block-device images.
Free plan Visit site - 7
Atari800
Free plan AndroidLinuxMac+1Atari 8-bit computers and Atari 5200 — Atari800 specializes in Atari 8-bit computers and the Atari 5200, including disk drives, varied controllers, and host file transfer.
Free plan Visit site - 8
ares
Free plan Open source LinuxMacSelf-hosted+1 - 9
Manic EMU
Free plan Open source iPhoneMacSelf-hosted - 10
webЯcade
Free plan Open source AndroidiPhoneLinux+4 - 11
OpenEmu
Free plan Open source Mac - 12
Provenance
Free plan Open source iPhoneMac - 13
Batocera
Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted - 14
higan
Free plan LinuxMacWindows - 15
AmberELEC
Free plan Self-hosted - 16
BizHawk
Free plan LinuxWindows - 17
ClassicBoy Pro
Free plan AndroidWindows - 18
jgenesis
Free plan LinuxWebWindows - 19
Lemuroid
Free plan Android - 20
MiSTer TurboGrafx16
Free plan Self-hosted6.9 Visit site - 21
Ootake
Free plan Windows - 22
Recalbox
Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted - 23
Mednafen
Free plan LinuxWindows - 24
ROCKNIX
Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted - 25
RetroDECK
Free plan Linux - 26
Geargrafx
Free plan AndroidiPhoneLinux+2 - 27
RetroPie
Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted - 28
PC Engine for Analogue Pocket
Free plan - 29
MagicEngine
Free trial LinuxMacWindows6.2 Visit site - 30
Retro-Go
Free plan
Alternatives can trade that broad scope for a focused system family or a different play setup. Foxol centers on cross-device play and cloud saves, while RetroArch brings many emulator and other cores into one frontend. Virtual Jaguar, SkyEmu, VICE, XRoar and Atari800 each target particular consoles or computers. Compare which systems and media you need, supported platforms, save and display options, multiplayer, and whether a product depends on another frontend. A narrower emulator may fit a specific machine better; a frontend or cross-device platform may suit a varied library or shared play.