Best Sapphire Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 tools from Game Boy advance emulators ranked against Sapphire on the same published basis.
- 1Sapphire vs RetroArch
- 2Sapphire vs RustBoyAdvance-NG
- 3Sapphire vs SkyEmu
- 4Sapphire vs VisualBoyAdvance-M
- 5Sapphire vs GSE
- 6Sapphire vs Hemulator
- 7Sapphire vs Provenance
- 8Sapphire vs ares
- 9Sapphire vs GBA Emulator
- 10Sapphire vs Delta
- 11Sapphire vs gbajs3
- 12Sapphire vs Lemuroid
- 13Sapphire vs Lynx.emu
- 14Sapphire vs Mednafen
- 15Sapphire vs Ghost Commander
- 16Sapphire vs Retra
- 17Sapphire vs OpenEmu
- 18Sapphire vs Gaemboy
- 19Sapphire vs 44VBA
- 20Sapphire vs NanoBoyAdvance
Sapphire alternatives compared
| # | Tool | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RetroArch | 7.8 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 2 | RustBoyAdvance-NG | 7.6 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 3 | SkyEmu | 7.4 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 4 | VisualBoyAdvance-M | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 5 | GSE | 7.2 | No | — | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 6 | Hemulator | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 7 | Provenance | 7.0 | Free plan | $3.33/mo | iOS, Mac |
| 8 | ares | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 9 | GBA Emulator | 6.9 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 10 | Delta | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | iOS, Mac |
| 11 | gbajs3 | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | self-hosted, Web |
| 12 | Lemuroid | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Android |
| 13 | Lynx.emu | 6.7 | No | — | Android, iOS, Linux |
| 14 | Mednafen | 6.7 | No | — | Linux, Windows |
| 15 | Ghost Commander | 6.6 | No | — | Android |
| 16 | Retra | 6.6 | No | — | Android |
| 17 | OpenEmu | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Mac |
| 18 | Gaemboy | 6.3 | No | — | Web |
| 19 | 44VBA | 6.2 | No | — | Web, Windows, Linux, iOS |
| 20 | NanoBoyAdvance | 6.1 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
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Questions about Sapphire alternatives
What is the best alternative to Sapphire?
RetroArch, number 1 in Game Boy advance emulators with a score of 7.8 out of 10. The others here: RustBoyAdvance-NG, SkyEmu, VisualBoyAdvance-M and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Sapphire?
RetroArch is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 11 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.