Side by side
ARAnyM vs QEMU
Both stand on multi-system emulators. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted+1
Choose ARAnyM if you want to run Atari TOS/GEM software on a host computer and are comfortable with an unfinished beta project. Look elsewhere if you need a platform confirmed as fully working beyond Linux-ia32 or exact behavior matching original Atari hardware.
Visit ARAnyM
Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+2
QEMU covers whole-machine and cross-architecture process emulation, with disk-image utilities included. Note its platform requirements and the distinction between virtualization security use and TCG non-virtualization use.
Visit QEMUThe facts
| ARAnyM | QEMU | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Yes |
| Runs on | Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | aranym.github.io | qemu.org |
| On multi-system emulators | #9 of 54 | #5 of 54 |
ARAnyM: what it does well
- Runs 32-bit Atari ST, TT, and Falcon operating systems and TOS/GEM applications.
- Includes JIT compilation for its CPU and FPU.
- Configurable Fast-RAM ranges from 0 to 3824 MB.
- AFROS bundles EmuTOS, FreeMiNT, fVDI, XaAES, and TeraDesk.
- Free software under the GNU GPL version 2 or later.
What to know first
- The project describes the software as unfinished beta work.
- Linux-ia32 is the only platform identified as tested and fully working.
- Some applications may behave differently than on original Atari hardware.
QEMU: what it does well
- Supports both system and user-mode emulation.
- Includes qemu-img disk-image utilities.
- Can work with KVM, Xen, and Hypervisor.Framework.
- Available for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
- Free and open source.
What to know first
- Windows support is limited to 64-bit.
- macOS requires the latest available version.
- TCG use does not provide guest-isolation guarantees.