Cemu vs DuckStation
Cemu
cemu.infoDuckStation
duckstation.orgSide by side
| Figure | Cemu | DuckStation |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Game Console Emulators | 8.1 (#13) | 8.9 (#4) |
| Spec score · Emulator Software | 8.0 (#19) | 8.8 (#4) |
| Controllers | It emulates the GamePad, Pro Controller and Classic Controller, and partially emulates Wiimotes; keyboard and USB controllers are also supported. | It supports digital and analog controllers, rumble, GunCon and Justifier lightguns simulated with a mouse, and up to eight devices through multitap. |
| Graphics APIs | The listed system requirements include OpenGL 4.5 or Vulkan 1.2. | Hardware rendering supports Direct3D 11, Direct3D 12, OpenGL, Vulkan and Metal. |
| License | Cemu is licensed under Mozilla Public License 2.0, with stated exceptions for some dependency and source files. | The maker describes the project as distributed under CC-BY-NC-ND terms and says modified versions may not be published. |
| Purpose | Cemu is software to emulate Wii U games and applications on PC. | DuckStation emulates the Sony PlayStation console, focusing on playability, speed, and long-term maintainability. |
Plans
In their own words
DuckStation
DuckStation is a free emulator for Sony PlayStation games, available for Android, Linux, macOS and Windows. Its hardware renderer supports D3D11, D3D12, OpenGL, Vulkan and Metal, with upscaling, texture filtering and 24-bit color among the graphics options. Enhancements include PGXP geometry precision, texture replacement, adaptive downsampling and post-processing shader chains. Play options include save states, rewind, runahead, CPU overclocking and multi-disc support, along with memory-card editing and save importing. DuckStation supports RetroAchievements and Discord Rich Presence. It accepts digital and analog controllers, rumble, and up to eight devices through multitap; GunCon and Justifier lightguns can be simulated with a mouse. Supported formats include bin/cue, MAME CHD, single-track ECM, MDS/MDF, CCD and unencrypted PBP. A PS1 or PS2 BIOS image is required but not supplied, and games are not provided. The maker says users should dump a BIOS from their own console. Desktop requirements include Windows 10/11 and macOS 13.3 or newer.