EmulationStation vs RomM
EmulationStation
emulationstation.org
RomM
romm.appSide by side
| Figure | EmulationStation | RomM |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $6.49/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 3 |
| Spec score · Game Library Managers | 7.1 (#29) | 8.7 (#6) |
| Spec score · Game launchers | 6.7 (#59) | 9.4 (#2) |
| Purpose | EmulationStation is a graphical, themeable front end that brings games from different emulators together in one place. | RomM is a self-hosted app for scanning, enriching, browsing, and playing a ROM collection. |
| Support | The maker directs users to the GitHub issue tracker to report bugs or seek help. | Troubleshooting directs users to GitHub issues and a Discord help channel staffed by maintainers and community members. |
Plans
In their own words
EmulationStation
EmulationStation has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
RomM
RomM is a free, self-hosted app for scanning, enriching, browsing, and playing a ROM collection. The project says it supports more than 400 platforms, including multi-disk games, DLCs, mods, hacks, and manuals. Compatible games can run in a browser through EmulatorJS and Ruffle without setup, while saves and states sync across devices with conflict resolution. Metadata providers include IGDB, ScreenScraper, LaunchBox, and MobyGames; RomM can also fetch artwork from SteamGridDB and track RetroAchievements. A built-in patcher applies ROM hacks and translations. The project lists granular per-user permissions, OIDC single sign-on, a REST API, and exports for ES-DE and Pegasus. Official clients include a Windows Playnite plugin, the Android Argosy handheld launcher, and the Linux Grout handheld client. A native iOS app is a community project, and the team says it does not regularly review community project source code. RomM is AGPL-3.0 licensed, with no tracking or paid features. Setup help and community discussion are available through Discord.