Best crater Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 tools from game gear emulators ranked against crater on the same published basis.
- 1crater vs RetroArch
- 2crater vs Virtual Jaguar
- 3crater vs Gearlynx
- 4crater vs MAME
- 5crater vs MEKA
- 6crater vs MasterGear
- 7crater vs BlastEm
- 8crater vs Emulicious
- 9crater vs Genesis Plus GX
- 10crater vs higan
- 11crater vs Provenance
- 12crater vs Retropa
- 13crater vs ares
- 14crater vs Dega
- 15crater vs Hemulator
- 16crater vs PicoDrive
- 17crater vs jgenesis
- 18crater vs Mednafen
- 19crater vs BizHawk
- 20crater vs Lemuroid
crater alternatives compared
| # | Tool | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RetroArch | 7.8 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 2 | Virtual Jaguar | 7.7 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 3 | Gearlynx | 7.4 | No | — | Android, API, Browser, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 4 | MAME | 7.4 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 5 | MEKA | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 6 | MasterGear | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Windows |
| 7 | BlastEm | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 8 | Emulicious | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 9 | Genesis Plus GX | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Windows |
| 10 | higan | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 11 | Provenance | 7.1 | Free plan | $3.33/mo | iOS, Mac |
| 12 | Retropa | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | iOS, Mac |
| 13 | ares | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 14 | Dega | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Windows |
| 15 | Hemulator | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 16 | PicoDrive | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted, Windows |
| 17 | jgenesis | 6.8 | No | — | Linux, Web, Windows |
| 18 | Mednafen | 6.8 | No | — | Linux, Windows |
| 19 | BizHawk | 6.7 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 20 | Lemuroid | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Android |
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Questions about crater alternatives
What is the best alternative to crater?
RetroArch, number 1 in game gear emulators with a score of 7.8 out of 10. The others here: Virtual Jaguar, Gearlynx, MAME and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to crater?
RetroArch is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 16 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing.