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Tech riderRev. 8 Oct 2026

ESPectrum

Ch 195.6of 21 ZX Spectrum Emulators
  1. 1Runs onself-hosted
  2. 2CostsFree plan
  3. 3Host platformsEspressif ESP32-powered boards
  4. 4Tape formatsTAP, TZX
  5. 5Snapshot formatsSNA, Z80, SP, ESP, P
  6. 6Open sourceYes
  7. 7Peripheral supportPS/2 keyboards, PS/2 joysticks, DB9 joysticks, PS/2 mouse, Betadisk, SD card, VGA display, CRT display, audio input
7 lines stated Written from the maker's own pages: github.com
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Overview

ESPectrum is ranked #19 of 21 in ZX spectrum emulators on Specifiction. It runs on Self-hosted. There is a free plan.

ESPectrum plans and pricing

All plans
ESPectrum Free Emulator firmware for compatible ESP32 boards github.com · 8 Oct 2026

Compared on ZX spectrum emulators

Host platforms
Espressif ESP32-powered boardsgithub.com
Tape formats
TAP, TZXgithub.com
Snapshot formats
SNA, Z80, SP, ESP, Pgithub.com
Open source
Yesgithub.com
Peripheral support
PS/2 keyboards, PS/2 joysticks, DB9 joysticks, PS/2 mouse, Betadisk, SD card, VGA display, CRT display, audio inputgithub.com

Facts

What it does
ESPectrum emulates Sinclair ZX Spectrum computers on Espressif ESP32 boards.github.com · 8 Oct 2026
Supported models
It emulates Spectrum 48K, 128K, +2A and Pentagon 128K, as well as Microdigital TK90X and TK95 models.github.com · 8 Oct 2026
Hardware
The project lists Lilygo TTGo VGA32 and Olimex ESP32-SBC-FabGL among supported boards.github.com · 8 Oct 2026
Display
Video output supports standard VGA, machine-rate VGA and 15 kHz CRT modes, with 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios.github.com · 8 Oct 2026
Sound and emulation
Features include Z80 emulation, AY-3-8912 sound, beeper and microphone emulation, contended memory and floating-bus effects.github.com · 8 Oct 2026
Input devices
It supports PS/2 keyboards, joystick emulation, two physical joysticks through a DB9-to-PS/2 converter, and a PS/2 mouse as a Kempston mouse.github.com · 8 Oct 2026
Media formats
The emulator supports tape and snapshot files, including TAP, TZX, SNA, Z80 and SP, plus Betadisk TRD and SCL disk files.github.com · 8 Oct 2026
Storage requirements
A micro SD card should be formatted as FAT16 or FAT32; the README lists it for program and disk files, snapshots and screen captures.github.com · 8 Oct 2026
Installation
Users can install firmware with the online web flasher or flash release binaries directly to a compatible board.github.com · 8 Oct 2026
Development platforms
The README describes compiling and flashing with PlatformIO on Windows, GNU/Linux and MacOS/X.github.com · 8 Oct 2026
License
The GitHub repository identifies the project license as GPL-3.0.github.com · 8 Oct 2026
Support
The project directs users to its README, release notes and public ESPectrum Telegram group for help.zxespectrum.speccy.org · 8 Oct 2026
Who it is for
The maker describes the project for retro-gaming enthusiasts who want to run classic Spectrum games on ESP32 hardware.zxespectrum.speccy.org · 8 Oct 2026

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Where it ranks on Specifiction

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Sources