Lakka vs OnionOS
Lakka
lakka.tvOnionOS
onionui.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | Lakka | OnionOS |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Emulation Frontends | 8.6 (#5) | 6.8 (#24) |
| Installation | Lakka provides USB images and says the image is specific to the target hardware. | Onion is installed and kept on an SD card; the maker says Windows users can use Onion Desktop Tools to prepare the card and install or update Onion. |
| Support | Users can get help through the documentation, FAQ, forums, IRC, Discord, and the GitHub bug tracker. | The project directs users to GitHub Discussions, Discord, Reddit, and Facebook for community support. |
Plans
In their own words
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.