Essgee vs Provenance
Essgee
github.com
Provenance
provenance-emu.comSide by side
| Figure | Essgee | Provenance |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $3.33/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 4 |
| Spec score · Game Gear Emulators | 7.1 (#25) | 8.4 (#7) |
| Purpose | Essgee is an emulator for several 8-bit consoles and handhelds, mostly made by Sega. | Provenance is a free, open-source multi-system retro game emulator frontend for Apple platforms. |
| Save states | The emulator provides eight save-state slots. | The emulator provides save states with visual thumbnail previews and a screenshot browser. |
| Supported systems | It supports the SG-1000, partially supports the SC-3000 and ColecoVision, and supports the Mark III/Master System, Game Gear, Game Boy and partially the Game Boy Color. | The project advertises support for more than 50 systems, including NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, GameCube, Wii, 3DS, PlayStation, PSP, Saturn and Dreamcast. |
Plans
Provenance
- FreeFree
- Monthly$3.99 a month
- Annual$39.99 a year
- Lifetime$99.99, paid once
In their own words
Provenance
Provenance is a free, open-source retro game emulator frontend for Apple platforms, available for iOS and macOS. It supports more than 38 console systems, including systems from Atari, Nintendo, Sega, and Sony. Its library can display automatically downloaded box art, screenshots, release details, ratings, and scanned manuals. Listed emulation features include save states, cheats, fast forward, shaders, visual filters, controller support, RetroAchievements, and multiplayer. Apple integration includes native tvOS, Apple TV TopShelf, Siri Remote, Spotlight search, Siri shortcuts, and iCloud sync; Apple TV supports MFi, Xbox, and PlayStation gamepads. Nearly all CD-based cores support CHD disc images, and the native Mednafen core has a custom CHD implementation. The source is published on GitHub under the BSD license. Installation options include the App Store, sideloading with AltStore or SideStore, and building from source. The free plan includes emulation features when sideloaded or built from source. Plus adds iCloud sync and priority support.