Nearcade vs RomMate
Nearcade
github.comRomMate
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Nearcade | RomMate |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 0 | 0 |
| Spec score · ROM Management Software | 7.9 (#8) | 6.9 (#27) |
| Integrations | Nearcade bundles Cloudflared and Zrok for tunneling and uses Trystero over BitTorrent trackers for signaling. | The project credits MAME chdman for CHD compression and verification and No-Intro and Redump for ROM databases. |
| License | The Nearcade repository is published under the GPL-3.0 license. | The project is licensed under GPLv3, which the README says permits use, modification, and distribution subject to its stated conditions. |
| Purpose | Nearcade is an open-source, self-hosted platform for playing local co-op games over the internet with friends. | RomMate converts, compresses, verifies, and organizes disc images and cartridge ROMs. |
| Support | The repository links setup guides, host usage instructions, API and setup documentation, and VPS server setup instructions. | The README directs users to GitHub Issues and Discussions for support and bug reports. |
In their own words
Nearcade
Nearcade is a free, open-source, self-hosted platform for playing local co-op games over the internet with friends. A host runs the game, while viewers join from a desktop or mobile web browser without installing a client. Streaming uses WebCodecs or WebRTC and peer-to-peer connections. Hosts can allow gamepad input, raw keyboard and mouse, or keyboard and mouse mapped to a virtual gamepad; mobile viewers get touch controls and a virtual joystick. Sessions can use private Cloudflare or Zrok tunnels, or appear in the public Nearcade Arcade lobby. Public Arcade sessions are limited to 80 minutes and require a verified tunneling provider. A host needs Node.js 18 or newer and Python 3. Linux also requires PipeWire and the uinput module, while Windows gamepad support requires ViGEmBus. Linux is listed as production-stable; Windows and macOS are experimental, and macOS lacks gamepad support. The project is published under GPL-3.0 and provides setup, usage, API, and VPS server documentation.