OpenEmu vs RomM
OpenEmu
openemu.org
RomM
romm.appSide by side
| Figure | OpenEmu | RomM |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $6.49/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 3 |
| Spec score · Game Library Managers | 8.1 (#8) | 8.7 (#6) |
| Spec score · Game launchers | 8.1 (#21) | 9.4 (#2) |
| Licence | The OpenEmu-Silicon project says the original application and SDK largely retain BSD 3-Clause headers, while individual cores can have different licences. | The core RomM application is licensed under GNU AGPLv3; related software uses GPLv3 and documentation uses CC0. |
| Purpose | OpenEmu is open-source video game emulation software for Mac. | RomM is a self-hosted app for scanning, enriching, browsing, and playing a ROM collection. |
| Support | The project directs users to read its contributing guide before reporting bugs through GitHub Issues or IRC. | Troubleshooting directs users to GitHub issues and a Discord help channel staffed by maintainers and community members. |
| What it does | OpenEmu is an open-source macOS application that emulates many classic video-game systems through a single native front end. | RomM is a self-hosted web application for scanning, enriching, organizing, downloading and playing personal ROM collections. |
Plans
In their own words
OpenEmu
OpenEmu is free, open-source video game emulation software for macOS. It organizes game backups into a unified library, adds box art and supports collections spanning consoles. Users drag and drop backups for scanning and organization. Modular cores from open-source projects emulate systems including Atari, Game Boy, Nintendo, Sega, Sony PlayStation and Super Nintendo; the project lists 31 supported systems. Generic HID-compliant USB or Bluetooth controllers can work immediately, with automatic mapping for recognized devices. OpenEmu is intended for games users already own, and BIOS files are required. The wiki describes an experimental arcade core plugin that is strictly unsupported. The latest release page identifies OpenEmu 2.4.1 binaries as Intel-only. The official site offers a macOS (OS X) application, but the version requirement was not rendered. The project lists save states, CD audio and cheat support, while online netplay is not available.
RomM
RomM is a free, self-hosted app for scanning, enriching, browsing, and playing a ROM collection. The project says it supports more than 400 platforms, including multi-disk games, DLCs, mods, hacks, and manuals. Compatible games can run in a browser through EmulatorJS and Ruffle without setup, while saves and states sync across devices with conflict resolution. Metadata providers include IGDB, ScreenScraper, LaunchBox, and MobyGames; RomM can also fetch artwork from SteamGridDB and track RetroAchievements. A built-in patcher applies ROM hacks and translations. The project lists granular per-user permissions, OIDC single sign-on, a REST API, and exports for ES-DE and Pegasus. Official clients include a Windows Playnite plugin, the Android Argosy handheld launcher, and the Linux Grout handheld client. A native iOS app is a community project, and the team says it does not regularly review community project source code. RomM is AGPL-3.0 licensed, with no tracking or paid features. Setup help and community discussion are available through Discord.