Side by side
BizHawk vs MEKA
Both stand on game gear emulators. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan LinuxMacWindows
Choose BizHawk for tool-assisted speedrunning across supported systems, especially when movie recording, TAStudio editing, or memory debugging matters. Look elsewhere if you need current macOS, Android, or iOS support, or Mupen64Plus on Linux.
Visit BizHawk Free plan LinuxMacWindows
MEKA combines emulation across several older systems with debugging tools and reference data. Its download page notes that 0.80 is in development, and non-Windows users are directed to build from source.
Visit MEKAThe facts
| BizHawk | MEKA | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Linux, Mac, Windows | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Not published | Free or on request |
| Plans published | None | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | tasvideos.org | smspower.org |
| On game gear emulators | #13 of 31 | #17 of 31 |
BizHawk: what it does well
- Records rerecordable movies for 45 or more systems.
- TAStudio edits movies with a piano-roll interface and savestate rewind.
- Includes memory viewing, searching, and editing.
- Supports Lua and C#.NET programmatic control.
- Free and open source; the team's original work uses the MIT License.
What to know first
- Current EmuHawk does not work on macOS.
- Unavailable for Android and iOS.
- Linux builds target x86_64 and omit Mupen64Plus for N64.
MEKA: what it does well
- Free software with a BSD-like license.
- Supports Sega 8-bit systems and ColecoVision.
- Includes debugger and hacking tools.
- Source and data may be browsed and reused.
- Includes a game database and compatibility list.
What to know first
- Download page describes MEKA 0.80 as in development.
- GNU/Linux and macOS users are directed to build from source.
- Project says it has limited use for average players.