Ludusavi vs SaveState
Ludusavi
github.comSaveState
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Ludusavi | SaveState |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Save Managers | 8.6 (#1) | 8.2 (#5) |
| Documentation | The repository links detailed help for automation, exclusions, retention, validation, cloud backup, custom games, configuration, CLI usage, logging and troubleshooting. | Documentation covers usage, cloud synchronization, save-search heuristics, and source building. |
| Maker identity | The GitHub account identifies the maintainer as Matthew Kennerly. | The GitHub account identifies the maker as Matteo Cioffi, using Matteo842, with location Italy. |
| Notable news | On September 8, 2024, Steam Deck HQ reported that NonSteamLaunchers bundled Ludusavi for automatic non-Steam game-save backups. | GamingOnLinux reported the Linux-support release on 4 June 2025. |
| Purpose | Ludusavi backs up PC video game save data and is written in Rust. | SaveState is a graphical app for backing up and restoring video game save files, including games without cloud saves. |
| What it does | Ludusavi backs up and restores PC video-game save data across multiple game stores. | SaveState backs up and restores video-game save files through a desktop GUI. |
Plans
In their own words
Ludusavi
Ludusavi is a free Rust tool for backing up PC video game save data. It covers more than 19,000 games and allows custom entries, with support for libraries such as Steam, GOG, Epic, Heroic, and Lutris. Users can operate it through a graphical interface or a command-line interface for scripting. Supported data includes file-based saves, Windows registry saves, Steam Proton saves, and Steam screenshots. Ludusavi is also available as a Playnite extension. For cloud copies, it integrates with Rclone remotes including Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, FTP, SMB, and WebDAV. Its synchronization process checks local and cloud saves before uploading changes and warns about conflicts. The tool supports scheduled backups and version history. Its backup information uses the Ludusavi Manifest, with information primarily sourced from PCGamingWiki. Portable releases are available for Windows, Linux, and Mac under the MIT License. One limitation is that it does not automatically support backing up on one operating system and restoring on another.
SaveState
SaveState is a graphical app for backing up and restoring video game saves, including games without cloud saves. It creates compressed ZIP backups, offers one-click backup and restore, and can rotate older backups automatically. Users can drop a game launcher shortcut onto the app to detect a game and search for its save folder. The desktop app supports Steam, Epic, GOG, Battle.net, Ubisoft, EA App, Playnite, and Heroic, as well as save discovery for emulators including RetroArch, Dolphin, ares, DuckStation, PPSSPP, and PCSX2. SaveState is free and GPLv3-licensed. Local backups need no account or configured provider; optional synchronization supports Google Drive, WebDAV, FTP/FTPS, SMB or network folders, and Git. Desktop releases are offered for Windows and Linux. Release notes describe Dolphin directory discovery for macOS locations. A separate Android app is in pre-release alpha and supports emulator detection, save scanning, ZIP backup and restore, and profile management. Some emulator saves in protected Android/data paths require a rooted device and superuser access through Root mode. The project describes preflight validation, staged extraction, atomic installation, and attempted rollback if replacement fails.