Eden vs MeloNX
Eden
eden-emu.devMeloNX
melonx.orgSide by side
| Figure | Eden | MeloNX |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Nintendo Switch Emulators | 9.0 (#1) | 8.3 (#6) |
| Documentation | The user handbook covers setup, settings, controllers, graphics, mods, saves, multiplayer, troubleshooting and platform-specific guides. | The repository README contains FAQ, device requirements, entitlement explanations, installation steps, feature descriptions and legal-use guidance. |
| Purpose | Eden describes itself as an accurate, high-performance emulator for the Nintendo Switch. | MeloNX is an open-source Nintendo Switch emulator for iPhone and iPad, based on Ryujinx. |
| Support | The site links to Get Started, System Requirements, and documentation for support. | The maker links to a Discord server for the project. |
| What it does | Eden is a high-performance Nintendo Switch emulator intended to run Switch games. | MeloNX emulates Nintendo Switch games on iPhone and iPad without requiring a jailbreak. |
Plans
In their own words
Eden
Eden is a free, open-source Nintendo Switch emulator for Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android. Its listed capabilities include online multiplayer, resolution scaling, and motion controls, with Vulkan and OpenGL graphics APIs. The minimum graphics requirement is Vulkan 1.1 or OpenGL 4.6. Android also requires a GPU that supports Vulkan 1.1; the requirements page says most PowerVR and Xclipse GPUs are unsupported. Stable releases receive more thorough testing, while Nightly builds are usually updated daily and may include bugs or incomplete features. The release page says PGO builds usually perform about 10–30% better than standard builds and are generally recommended. Linux downloads are architecture-specific AppImages; Windows downloads are ZIP files that users extract before launching eden.exe. Android offers Standard, Genshin Spoof, and Legacy APK downloads, with Standard recommended for most users. macOS builds are experimental, and the release page warns users to expect major graphical glitches and crashes. The site links to setup, system requirements, and documentation, and invites bug reports, feature requests, code, and translation contributions.
MeloNX
MeloNX is a free, open-source Nintendo Switch emulator for iPhone and iPad, based on Ryujinx and licensed under GPLv3. It needs JIT to run but does not require a jailbreak. The recommended installation uses PlumeImpactor to sideload its IPA, with SideStore as an optional on-device method. The maker recommends iPhone 15 Pro or newer and certain iPad Pro and iPad Air models; listed minimum-compatible devices are iPhone 6s with a paid developer account and iPhone 12 with a free developer account. Users add encryption keys and firmware through the in-app picker, while commercial games require legally dumped firmware, keys and purchased games. Audio output works, but microphone input does not. Controls include keyboard, touch, JoyCon and nearly all MFI controllers; JoyCon motion is unavailable due to an iOS limitation. DLC and updates are supported, mods are unsupported, and graphics use Metal through MoltenVK.