Argon vs Provenance
Argon
markspace.com
Provenance
provenance-emu.comSide by side
| Figure | Argon | Provenance |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $3.33/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 0 | 4 |
| Spec score · Multi-System Emulators | 7.8 (#29) | 8.5 (#8) |
| Controllers | Argon supports standard game controllers, including Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch controllers, as well as keyboards. | Apple TV support includes MFi, Xbox, and PlayStation gamepads. |
| Game library | Premium subscribers get access to the full library of classic and indie games for supported consoles. | The library can show automatically downloaded box art, screenshots, release information, ratings, and scanned manuals. |
| Maker | Mark/Space says it was founded in 1990 and is located in Los Gatos, California; its contact page lists an address in Campbell, California. | Joseph Mattiello is identified as Provenance's creator and lead developer. |
| Privacy | Mark/Space’s Argon privacy policy says it may collect limited personal data, including an email address, and says it does not share personal data internally or externally. | The maker says the apps collect no personal or identifying information, while anonymous device model and iOS-version analytics may be recorded. |
| Supported systems | The product page lists support for ColecoVision, Intellivision, NES, Vectrex, Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, Lynx, and 8-bit home computers. | The project advertises support for more than 50 systems, including NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, GameCube, Wii, 3DS, PlayStation, PSP, Saturn and Dreamcast. |
| What it does | Argon is a retro game emulator and library for playing games from users’ own collections and Argon’s catalog of classic and indie games. | Provenance is a multi-console emulator frontend for playing games from classic Atari, Nintendo, Sega, Sony and other systems. |
Plans
Provenance
- FreeFree
- Monthly$3.99 a month
- Annual$39.99 a year
- Lifetime$99.99, paid once
In their own words
Provenance
Provenance is a free, open-source retro game emulator frontend for Apple platforms, available for iOS and macOS. It supports more than 38 console systems, including systems from Atari, Nintendo, Sega, and Sony. Its library can display automatically downloaded box art, screenshots, release details, ratings, and scanned manuals. Listed emulation features include save states, cheats, fast forward, shaders, visual filters, controller support, RetroAchievements, and multiplayer. Apple integration includes native tvOS, Apple TV TopShelf, Siri Remote, Spotlight search, Siri shortcuts, and iCloud sync; Apple TV supports MFi, Xbox, and PlayStation gamepads. Nearly all CD-based cores support CHD disc images, and the native Mednafen core has a custom CHD implementation. The source is published on GitHub under the BSD license. Installation options include the App Store, sideloading with AltStore or SideStore, and building from source. The free plan includes emulation features when sideloaded or built from source. Plus adds iCloud sync and priority support.