Best SMS Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 tools from Sega master system emulators ranked against SMS on the same published basis.
- 1SMS vs Virtual Jaguar
- 2SMS vs Gearlynx
- 3SMS vs MasterGear
- 4SMS vs Emulicious
- 5SMS vs Genesis Plus GX
- 6SMS vs ares
- 7SMS vs Dega
- 8SMS vs DSP Emulator
- 9SMS vs Nexen
- 10SMS vs BizHawk
- 11SMS vs jgenesis
- 12SMS vs Mednafen
- 13SMS vs OpenHomeKaraoke
- 14SMS vs PicoDrive
- 15SMS vs vibe-sms
- 16SMS vs Mira
- 17SMS vs MasterEmu
- 18SMS vs Miracle
- 20SMS vs TotalSMS
- 21SMS vs ESP32-FabGL-SMSEmulator
SMS alternatives compared
| # | Tool | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virtual Jaguar | 7.8 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 2 | Gearlynx | 7.4 | No | — | Android, API, Browser, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 3 | MasterGear | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Windows |
| 4 | Emulicious | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 5 | Genesis Plus GX | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Windows |
| 6 | ares | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 7 | Dega | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Windows |
| 8 | DSP Emulator | 7.0 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 9 | Nexen | 7.0 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 10 | BizHawk | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Windows |
| 11 | jgenesis | 6.8 | No | — | Linux, Web, Windows |
| 12 | Mednafen | 6.8 | No | — | Linux, Windows |
| 13 | OpenHomeKaraoke | 6.8 | No | — | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 14 | PicoDrive | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted, Windows |
| 15 | vibe-sms | 6.8 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 16 | Mira | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | self-hosted, Web |
| 17 | MasterEmu | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Android |
| 18 | Miracle | 6.5 | No | — | Web |
| 20 | TotalSMS | 6.2 | No | — | Web |
| 21 | ESP32-FabGL-SMSEmulator | 6.1 | No | — | — |
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Questions about SMS alternatives
What is the best alternative to SMS?
Virtual Jaguar, number 1 in Sega master system emulators with a score of 7.8 out of 10. The others here: Gearlynx, MasterGear, Emulicious and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to SMS?
Virtual Jaguar is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 10 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.