Batocera vs MAME
Batocera
batocera.orgMAME
mamedev.orgSide by side
| Figure | Batocera | MAME |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Sega Genesis Emulators | 8.0 (#8) | 8.4 (#5) |
| Spec score · TurboGrafx-16 Emulators | 7.9 (#11) | 8.6 (#4) |
| Purpose | Batocera Linux is a free, open-source retro-gaming distribution that can turn a computer or nano computer into a gaming console. | MAME is a multi-purpose emulation framework intended to preserve software history by documenting hardware and how it functions. |
| Security | Batocera says it is not designed as a secure operating system and warns users not to expose it to the open internet; its security option can change the root password and require credentials for network shares. | MAME says it is not designed for secure sites, has not been audited for such use, and should not be run as administrator or root. |
| Support | The project points users to its wiki and Discord for documentation and community support. | Users can report information or code through the MAME GitHub page, MAME Forums, or the project contact page. |
Plans
In their own words
Batocera
Batocera Linux is a free, open-source Linux distribution that turns compatible computers and small devices into retro-gaming consoles. It can run from a USB stick or SD card without changing the computer, or be installed permanently. Download builds are listed for desktop PCs, laptops, Intel-based Apple computers, handheld PCs, Raspberry Pi, Odroid boards, and other devices. Batocera supports many consoles, platforms, emulators, and related applications through a front end based on a modified EmulationStation. Its content downloader provides freely distributed ROMs, bezels, music themes, and other enhancements, with packages handled by pacman. Documentation covers Netplay for supported games and integrations including Kodi, RetroAchievements, The Bezel Project, Syncthing, NAS storage, and a web server. Installation requires at least 16 GB of storage; 32 GB is recommended. Batocera focuses on retro gaming and will not implement emulators for current-generation consoles.
MAME
MAME is a free emulation framework intended to preserve software history by documenting and reproducing the inner components of arcade machines, computers, consoles, calculators, and other electronic amusement systems. It can emulate over 32,000 individual systems from the last five decades. Alongside emulation, it includes an interactive low-level debugger for investigating software behavior, diagnosing emulation issues, and developing software for vintage systems. Its Lua interface can inspect device state, access CPU registers, read and write memory, and draw overlays, though the API may change without notice. Plugins support uses such as external-program communication and alternate interfaces; included examples are Discord Presence and a GDB Stub. MAME can save and load states, record inputs for playback, and capture screenshots or video. It is available for Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows; official Windows binaries require Windows 10 or later. BIOS dumps and copyrighted software are generally not included. The project is distributed under GPL-2.0 overall, while more than 90% of files, including core files, are under BSD-3-Clause.