EmulatorJS vs OpenEmu
EmulatorJS
emulatorjs.org
OpenEmu
openemu.orgSide by side
| Figure | EmulatorJS | OpenEmu |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | — |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Boy Advance Emulators | 8.1 (#7) | 8.0 (#8) |
| Spec score · Sega Genesis Emulators | 8.0 (#9) | 7.9 (#12) |
| Spec score · Multi-System Emulators | 8.0 (#21) | 8.0 (#23) |
| Spec score · Sega CD Emulators | 8.1 (#10) | 8.0 (#11) |
| Purpose | EmulatorJS is a web-based frontend for RetroArch that lets users embed an emulator in a website. | OpenEmu is open-source video game emulation software for Mac. |
| Support | The project directs users to report issues on GitHub and include browser console logs and the version they use. | The project directs users to read its contributing guide before reporting bugs through GitHub Issues or IRC. |
| 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including NES, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PSP, Sega systems, and Commodore systems, and notes that its list may be out of date. | The repository lists cores for systems including Atari, NES, Game Boy, GameCube, Nintendo 64, Nintendo DS, Sega systems, PlayStation, PSP, Super Nintendo, TurboGrafx, Vectrex, Virtual Boy and WonderSwan. |
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NES, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PSP, Sega systems, and Commodore systems, though the project warns that this list may be out of date.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.
OpenEmu
OpenEmu is free, open-source video game emulation software for macOS. It organizes game backups into a unified library, adds box art and supports collections spanning consoles. Users drag and drop backups for scanning and organization. Modular cores from open-source projects emulate systems including Atari, Game Boy, Nintendo, Sega, Sony PlayStation and Super Nintendo; the project lists 31 supported systems. Generic HID-compliant USB or Bluetooth controllers can work immediately, with automatic mapping for recognized devices. OpenEmu is intended for games users already own, and BIOS files are required. The wiki describes an experimental arcade core plugin that is strictly unsupported. The latest release page identifies OpenEmu 2.4.1 binaries as Intel-only. The official site offers a macOS (OS X) application, but the version requirement was not rendered. The project lists save states, CD audio and cheat support, while online netplay is not available.