KNULLI vs Lakka
KNULLI
knulli.orgLakka
lakka.tvSide by side
| Figure | KNULLI | Lakka |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Emulation Frontends | 7.7 (#14) | 8.6 (#5) |
| Installation | Installation requires downloading a device-specific image and flashing it to an SD card or the device's internal storage. | Lakka provides USB images and says the image is specific to the target hardware. |
| Licensing | KNULLI combines open-source components under their respective licenses and includes some components licensed for non-commercial use only. | Lakka is community-driven open source, while its bundled emulators are protected by a non-commercial license and the name and logo are registered trademarks. |
| Purpose | KNULLI is custom firmware for retro-gaming devices such as handhelds and bartops, developed as a fork of Batocera. | Lakka is a lightweight Linux distribution that transforms a small computer into a retrogaming console. |
| Support | The project uses Discord for discussions and provides a wiki with setup and troubleshooting guides. | Users can get help through the documentation, FAQ, forums, IRC, Discord, and the GitHub bug tracker. |
Plans
In their own words
KNULLI
KNULLI is free, open-source custom firmware for supported retro-gaming devices, including handhelds and bartops. It runs on Linux and self-hosted setups, with supported platforms including Anbernic RG series, GoRetroid Pocket 5 and Mini, Miyoo Flip, Powkiddy RGB30 and X55, Orange Pi Zero 2w, and TrimUI Brick and Smart Pro. The system provides EmulationStation or Simplemenu/Simplermenu+ frontends, RetroArch, and multiple libretro cores. It adds RetroAchievements, netplay, cover art, and thumbnail scraping through ScreenScraper, TheGamesDB, and ArcadeDB. Wireless and Bluetooth features depend on the device, while external USB wireless adapters are supported. Syncthing synchronizes saves between KNULLI devices or backs them up to a NAS, not a cloud. Installation requires a device-specific image flashed to an SD card or internal storage. Games, BIOS files, saves, and themes must use a strict case-sensitive folder structure.
Lakka
Lakka is a lightweight Linux distribution that turns a small computer into a retrogaming console. It is built on LibreELEC and RetroArch, with RetroArch serving as its graphical interface and providing unified emulator configuration and joypad autoconfiguration. Listed features include automatic controller recognition, rewinding, netplay, and shaders. Official builds target Raspberry Pi, Allwinner, iMX6, Amlogic, and 32-bit and 64-bit PC systems. Installation uses USB images specific to the target hardware, and installation instructions cover GNU/Linux, Windows, and MacOS. The PC version is intended for dedicated hardware and does not support virtualization, dual boot, or CD and DVD installation. Users must supply their own ROMs; documentation also covers BIOS files. Netplay requires both players to use the same ROM, and cores without savestate support cannot use it. Lakka is community-driven and open source, and the listed price is free; required hardware is not included. The project says it remains under heavy development, so bugs, missing features, or unsupported hardware may occur.