DOSBox Pure vs Retro-DOS
DOSBox Pure
schelling.itch.ioRetro-DOS
github.comSide by side
| Figure | DOSBox Pure | Retro-DOS |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 0 |
| Spec score · MS-DOS Emulators | 8.8 (#3) | 7.0 (#22) |
| License | DOSBox Pure is released under the GNU General Public License version 2 or later. | The repository is marked GPL-2.0, and the README notes separate terms for the bundled FreeDOS image and demonstration program. |
| Maker | The product page identifies the author as Schelling. | The GitHub repository is owned by CrownParkComputing. |
| Purpose | DOSBox Pure is a DOS game emulator fork of DOSBox designed for simplicity and ease of use. | Retro-DOS is a DOS games launcher and emulator for handhelds, built on DOSBox-X with an SDL3 and Dear ImGui frontend. |
Plans
In their own words
DOSBox Pure
DOSBox Pure is a DOS game emulator fork that runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, either as a standalone desktop download or as a RetroArch core. It opens ZIP and DOSZ files, DOS programs, configuration files, folders, and CD, floppy, or hard disk images. For gamepads, it can detect games and apply controller mappings, or let users map controls to emulated keyboard, mouse, and joystick inputs. Each content item has 10 save-state slots, though complex late-era DOS games may have problems and states depend on using the same game and video or CPU settings. Users can create an 8 to 1024 MB hard disk image and install an operating system from a bootable CD-ROM or floppy image. The emulated NE2000 network card cannot connect to the real internet. Graphics include 3dfx Voodoo PCI emulation, with OpenGL hardware rendering by default and a software option that uses more CPU. MIDI music can use SoundFont files or ROM files for MT-32 emulation. It is free to download; donations are welcome.