Manic EMU vs SIMH
Manic EMU
github.comSIMH
simh.trailing-edge.comSide by side
| Figure | Manic EMU | SIMH |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $0.42/mo | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 9 | 0 |
| Spec score · Multi-System Emulators | 8.8 (#6) | 6.7 (#52) |
| Build requirements | Building requires macOS with Xcode 26 or newer, iOS SDK 15 or newer, Swift 5.9 or newer, Git LFS and an Apple Developer account for capabilities such as iCloud. | The HP simulator source distributions are written in portable C, and the page says no additional libraries are needed to build them. |
| License | The upstream Manic EMU source is licensed under GNU AGPL-3.0, with separate notices for bundled cores and dependencies. | The V3 and Open SIMH V4 source code is licensed under an MIT-style open-source license. |
| Purpose | Manic EMU is an all-in-one retro game emulator for iPhone and iPad. | SIMH is a collection of simulators for historically significant or otherwise interesting computer hardware and software. |
| Support | The official site links users to FAQ and guides, GitHub, and Discord for support resources. | The site points users to documentation, help guides, and a SimH users' mailing list for support and questions. |
Plans
Manic EMU
- FreeFree
- SideloadFree
- Sideload / GitHubFree
- Premium Monthly$0.99 a month
- Premium Monthly Plan$0.99 a month
- Premium Annual Plan$4.99 a year
- Premium Annual$5.99 a year
- Premium Forever Access$9.99, paid once
- Forever Access$11.99, paid once
In their own words
Manic EMU
Manic EMU is a free retro game emulator for iPhone and iPad, supporting more than 30 classic platforms across consoles, arcade, DOS, Symbian, and J2ME. It includes save states, auto-saves, fast-forward, cheats, shortcuts, filters, screenshots, and custom skins. Cloud import works with Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Baidu, Aliyun, WebDAV, and SMB. The project says iCloud sync keeps games, saves, and settings encrypted in the cloud across devices. Manic EMU integrates RetroAchievements and supports local multiplayer and Netplay on eligible Libretro cores. The free App Store build limits fast-forward to 2×, save states and cheat codes to three each, and controllers to one player. Premium plans cost $0.99 a month, $4.99 a year, or 9.99 USD once for lifetime access, and include higher fast-forward speeds, more save states and cheat slots, and extra controller players. A free sideload build includes premium play features but does not provide iCloud save sync. The app does not include ROMs, BIOS files, or game data.