EmulatorJS vs mGBA
EmulatorJS
emulatorjs.org
mGBA
mgba.ioSide by side
| Figure | EmulatorJS | mGBA |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Boy Advance Emulators | 8.1 (#7) | 8.4 (#3) |
| Integrations | The project describes itself as a library or plugin rather than a standalone website and says it does not provide a Docker container. | The project timeline lists Dolphin integration as a feature added in version 0.9.0. |
| Purpose | EmulatorJS is a web-based frontend for RetroArch that lets users embed an emulator in a website. | mGBA is an open-source Game Boy Advance emulator designed to run on lower-end hardware without sacrificing accuracy or portability. |
| Support | The project directs users to report issues on GitHub and include browser console logs and the version they use. | The FAQ directs users to file bug reports on the GitHub issue tracker and recommends attaching the built-in bug report ZIP on PC for version 0.9.0 or newer. |
| Supported systems | The supported systems documentation lists platforms including NES, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PSP, Sega systems, and Commodore systems, and notes that its list may be out of date. | mGBA also emulates Game Boy and Game Boy Color; DS support is very early and only available in the medusa branch. |
Plans
In their own words
EmulatorJS
EmulatorJS is a free, open-source frontend for RetroArch that lets a site owner embed an emulator in a web page. The project provides a code generator, and says the resulting embed can be added with a few lines of code. EmulatorJS uses RetroArch’s libretro cores to run games. Its supported systems documentation includes NES, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PSP, Sega systems, and Commodore systems, though the project warns that this list may be out of date. Built-in options allow customization, and multiple languages are supported. The project describes EmulatorJS as a library or plugin rather than a standalone website, and it does not provide a Docker container. A public CDN offers paths labeled stable, latest, and nightly. The listed platforms are web, Android, iOS, and self-hosted. Pages must be served through a web server; opening an HTML file directly is unsupported. Threaded cores may improve performance, but need SharedArrayBuffer enabled through COOP and COEP response headers. The 4.3.0-pre release is marked as a prerelease and is discouraged for production use where stability is needed.
mGBA
mGBA is a free, open-source emulator for Game Boy Advance games, designed to run on lower-end hardware while maintaining accuracy and portability. It also emulates Game Boy and Game Boy Color; most GBA games boot, while the FAQ notes bugs in Game Boy and Game Boy Color support. Nintendo DS support is very early, limited to the medusa branch, and has poor compatibility. Desktop downloads cover Windows, macOS, Linux, and Ubuntu, with homebrew builds for Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, Wii, and PlayStation Vita. Supported GBA peripherals include rumble, rotation and tilt sensors, a solar sensor, realtime clock, partial link cable support, and BattleChip Gate. Game Boy features include rumble, tilt, realtime clock, Game Boy Printer, and partial Game Boy Camera and Super Game Boy support. The Wireless Adapter, IR Adapter, and Soul Adapter are not supported. Built-in Lua scripting can access emulator memory, registers, save states, buttons, game information, screenshots, callbacks, and frame or instruction advancement. The project began in April 2013 and uses the Mozilla Public License 2.0.