GameVault vs LaunchBox
GameVault
gamevau.lt
LaunchBox
launchbox-app.comSide by side
| Figure | GameVault | LaunchBox |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | €4.16/mo | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 3 | 8 |
| Spec score · Game Launcher Software | 8.8 (#1) | 8.8 (#2) |
| Spec score · Game launchers | 8.3 (#18) | 9.0 (#9) |
| License | The main project uses Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0, with different licensing possible for extensions and plugins. | The maker says Premium is DRM-free and can be deployed to as many personal devices as the user wishes. |
| Plugin extensibility | GameVault documents a backend plugin system and publishes an example plugin repository. | The expanded plugin SDK supports emulator and storefront capabilities, game discovery, localized notifications, and separate plugin data and credential storage. |
| Support | For subscription support, the maker directs users to contact the developers through Discord or email at [email protected]. | The maker points users to technical support forums, how-to video tutorials, bug reporting, and feature requests. |
| What it does | GameVault is a self-hosted platform for managing, distributing and launching legally owned DRM-free PC games. | LaunchBox is a Windows game-library manager and launcher that organizes PC, storefront, and emulated games and starts them through configured applications. |
Plans
GameVault
- Flex Plan€4.99 a month
- Family & Friends Plan€8.99 a month
- Smart Saver Plan€49.90 a year
LaunchBox
- StarterFree
- Starter (Windows)Free
- Regular$30, paid once
- Regular (Windows)$30, paid once
- Bundle (Windows and Android)$35, paid once
- Windows and Android bundle$35, paid once
- Lifetime$75, paid once
- Lifetime (Windows)$75, paid once
In their own words
GameVault
GameVault is a self-hostable platform for browsing and playing DRM-free games stored on a file server. Its server indexes game files and adds metadata, while clients let users organize, download, install and launch games. The client records playtime and game progress, including offline. Server features include multi-user authentication, role-based access, parental controls, backups and OAuth2 authentication. Users can choose a browser-based Web UI, a legacy Windows app or an early-access desktop client for Windows, Linux and macOS. The browser-only session cannot install or launch games on the user's computer; the full download manager is available in desktop clients. GameVault+ includes Playnite, Steam and Discord integrations, alongside a documented REST API for clients, integrations and library automation. Cloud saves and controller support are listed, while remote play and mod support are not. The maker says it uses encryption and follows GDPR rules. Plans include €4.99/month or €49.90/year for personal subscriptions and €8.99/month for a plan shareable with up to five others. GameVault+ is currently available in the legacy Windows app; cross-platform support is described as coming soon.
LaunchBox
LaunchBox is a game collection frontend and manager for modern PC games and emulated console games. It can import Steam and GOG games, ROM files, and MS-DOS games, then retrieve box art and metadata from its Games Database along with fan art, screenshots, and logos. Collections can be arranged and filtered by genre, platform, ESRB rating, developer, and publisher, with custom status and source fields. The Windows app supports Windows 10 and higher, with Windows 10 and 11 described as fully supported. LaunchBox for Android is free for collections of 100 games or fewer; it shares the games database, media, and portable XML data with Windows, and Windows data can be exported to Android. Premium adds themes, Big Box mode, gamepad automation, startup and pause screens, and display customization. The Regular Windows license costs $30 as a one-time purchase and includes a year of free updates. The maker says Premium is DRM-free and can be deployed to as many personal devices as desired. Windows data can also be moved by copying the app to another folder or computer.