Batocera vs Playnite
Batocera
batocera.org
Playnite
playnite.linkSide by side
| Figure | Batocera | Playnite |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Library Managers | 8.0 (#9) | 7.2 (#25) |
| Spec score · Game launchers | 7.6 (#33) | 7.3 (#45) |
| Emulation | Batocera supports many consoles, platforms, emulators, and emulation-related applications. | Playnite supports a wide variety of console emulators. |
| Purpose | Batocera Linux is a free, open-source retro-gaming distribution that can turn a computer or nano computer into a gaming console. | Playnite is an open source video game library manager that provides a unified interface for games. |
| Support | The project points users to its wiki and Discord for documentation and community support. | The help overview directs users to the Playnite Discord server, subreddit, and official issues tracker for assistance or reporting issues. |
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.