Side by side

Nintendulator vs WebNES

Both stand on nes emulators. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Nintendulator

Free plan Windows

Choose Nintendulator if you want a free, open-source Windows NES emulator with broad file-format support, controller options, and debugging tools. Look elsewhere if rewind, netplay, or shader support is essential; the newer 0.985 Beta build is also identified as unstable.

Visit Nintendulator

WebNES

Free plan Web

WebNES offers a substantial set of NES playback, graphics, control, and development features in a browser. Its Internet Explorer exclusion and estimated, rather than complete, game compatibility should guide expectations.

Visit WebNES

The facts

	Nintendulator	WebNES
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	Windows	Web
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	Not published
Plans published	1	None
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	qmtpro.com	github.com
On nes emulators	#18 of 26	#22 of 26

Nintendulator: what it does well

Open-source and free to use.
Supports .NES, UNIF, fwNES FDS, and NSF formats.
Offers customizable controllers, including four-player setups.
Includes Game Genie support for up to three codes.
Stores savestates and battery-backed RAM in Application Data.

What to know first

Full-speed emulation is estimated to require a 1500MHz or faster CPU.
The listed official release is version 0.980, dated January 1, 2019.
Version 0.985 Beta is labeled unstable and may have significant bugs.
There is no rewind, netplay, or shader support.

WebNES: what it does well

Free browser-based emulator
Playable GitHub Pages demo
Quick save and load states
Game pad and remappable keyboard support
Trace logs for development

What to know first

Internet Explorer is unsupported
Approximately 98% compatibility is estimated
Chrome is the optimization target

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