DuckStation vs ShadPS4
DuckStation
duckstation.orgShadPS4
shadps4.netSide by side
| Figure | DuckStation | ShadPS4 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Console Emulators | 8.9 (#4) | 7.4 (#30) |
| Game files | Supported formats include bin/cue, MAME CHD, single-track ECM, MDS/MDF, CCD, and unencrypted PBP. | Games, updates, and DLC must be dumped from the user's own copy of the game. |
| Purpose | DuckStation emulates the Sony PlayStation console, focusing on playability, speed, and long-term maintainability. | shadPS4 is an early PlayStation 4 emulator written in C++. |
| System requirements | The project requires a supported x86_64, ARM32, ARM64 or RISC-V CPU and a GPU supporting OpenGL 3.1, OpenGL ES 3.1, Direct3D 11 feature level 10.0 or Vulkan 1.0. | The guide specifies at least 8 GB RAM and Windows 10, Ubuntu 22.04, or macOS 15.4. |
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.