GE-Proton vs PlayOnMac
GE-Proton
github.comPlayOnMac
playonmac.comSide by side
| Figure | GE-Proton | PlayOnMac |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Windows Compatibility Layers | 7.7 (#7) | 7.3 (#16) |
| Purpose | GE-Proton is a custom build of Proton, a compatibility tool for Steam Play based on Wine and additional components. | PlayOnMac is free software for installing and using games and other software designed for Microsoft Windows on a Mac. |
| Security | The documented native installation script checks downloaded releases against published SHA-512 checksum files. | The legal notice describes security measures including protected networks, firewalls, pseudonymization, encryption and passwords, while stating that absolute security cannot be guaranteed. |
Plans
In their own words
GE-Proton
GE-Proton is a free, open-source custom build of Proton, a Steam Play compatibility tool based on Wine and additional components. Its base follows the most recent bleeding-edge Proton Experimental Wine described by the project. The protonfixes system applies per-game adjustments such as winetricks changes, environment variables, Easy Anti-Cheat workarounds and overrides. The build adds Media Foundation patches for video playback, raw-input mouse support, AMD FSR patches enabled with WINE_FULLSCREEN_FSR=1, and NVIDIA CUDA support for PhysX and NVAPI. NTSync is enabled when supported; the README specifies kernel 6.14 or newer with CONFIG_NTSYNC enabled. Installation instructions cover native Steam and Steam Flatpak, with release downloads provided. Heroic enables umu by default, and Lutris uses umu when GE-Proton Latest is selected. Non-Steam games outside Steam are supported only through umu-launcher. Linux installation requires suitable Vulkan drivers and packages.
PlayOnMac
PlayOnMac is free software for installing and using games and other programs designed for Microsoft Windows on a Mac. The maker says a Windows license is not required. Compatibility is partial, and ease of use and performance depend on whether the program is supported, so support information matters when considering a specific application. Examples shown on the site include Star Wars: The Old Republic, Trackmania Nation Forever, Photofiltre, and Internet Explorer 8. The download page offers version 4.4.4 for macOS 10.15 or macOS 11 and later, and version 4.3.3 for macOS versions before 10.15. It also cautions that antivirus warnings about some PlayOnMac .exe files may be false positives related to interaction with the emulated Windows registry. PlayOnMac is listed for macOS, with no Linux support, and its free software plan requires a supported Windows program. The legal notice identifies Alius IT as the site owner, Quentin Paris as publication director and webmaster, and OVH in Roubaix, France, as the website host. The notice says personal data is not commercialized and describes security measures while noting that absolute security cannot be guaranteed.