Provenance vs webЯcade
Provenance
provenance-emu.comwebЯcade
webrcade.comSide by side
| Figure | Provenance | webЯcade |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $3.33/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 2 |
| Spec score · TurboGrafx-16 Emulators | 8.5 (#5) | 8.2 (#7) |
| Spec score · Sega CD Emulators | 8.4 (#7) | 8.2 (#9) |
| Cheats | Game Genie, Action Replay and GameShark cheats are supported across more than 12 native cores and RetroArch cores. | Supported systems can use RetroArch-format cheat files or the built-in cheat database. |
| Controllers | Apple TV support includes MFi, Xbox, and PlayStation gamepads. | USB and Bluetooth gamepads are supported for front-end navigation and gameplay. |
| Licence | The Provenance project uses a permissive custom licence that allows source and binary redistribution with attribution and prohibits commercial use of its branding; bundled cores have separate licences. | The main webЯcade repository is licensed under Apache License 2.0. |
| Open source | The project publishes its source code on GitHub and identifies its license as BSD. | The maker says webЯcade is free and open-source and will always remain so; contributions are appreciated but never expected. |
| Purpose | Provenance is a free, open-source multi-system retro game emulator frontend for Apple platforms. | webЯcade is a browser-based player for gaming content organized by user-defined feeds. |
| Save states | The emulator provides save states with visual thumbnail previews and a screenshot browser. | Most emulator applications support save states, with eight save slots per game when cloud storage is enabled. |
| Supported systems | The project advertises support for more than 50 systems, including NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, GameCube, Wii, 3DS, PlayStation, PSP, Saturn and Dreamcast. | Official documentation lists Atari, Sega and Nintendo emulators plus engines such as Classic Doom, with application types continuing to expand. |
| What it does | Provenance is a multi-console emulator frontend for playing games from classic Atari, Nintendo, Sega, Sony and other systems. | webЯcade is a browser front end that launches retro-game emulators and game engines from user-defined feeds. |
Plans
Provenance
- FreeFree
- Monthly$3.99 a month
- Annual$39.99 a year
- Lifetime$99.99, paid once
In their own words
Provenance
Provenance is a free, open-source retro game emulator frontend for Apple platforms, available for iOS and macOS. It supports more than 38 console systems, including systems from Atari, Nintendo, Sega, and Sony. Its library can display automatically downloaded box art, screenshots, release details, ratings, and scanned manuals. Listed emulation features include save states, cheats, fast forward, shaders, visual filters, controller support, RetroAchievements, and multiplayer. Apple integration includes native tvOS, Apple TV TopShelf, Siri Remote, Spotlight search, Siri shortcuts, and iCloud sync; Apple TV supports MFi, Xbox, and PlayStation gamepads. Nearly all CD-based cores support CHD disc images, and the native Mednafen core has a custom CHD implementation. The source is published on GitHub under the BSD license. Installation options include the App Store, sideloading with AltStore or SideStore, and building from source. The free plan includes emulation features when sideloaded or built from source. Plus adds iCloud sync and priority support.
webЯcade
webЯcade is a free, open-source browser-based player for gaming content arranged in user-defined feeds. Games run locally in the browser through JavaScript, WebAssembly and HTML5 gamepad and audio interfaces, rather than being streamed. Its graphical feed editor lets users create feeds without working with the underlying document format, and its ROM analyzer can identify application types, metadata and artwork. Supported categories include emulators and game engines, with examples such as Atari, Nintendo, Sega, Doom, Quake and ScummVM. USB and Bluetooth gamepads work for navigation and gameplay. Most emulator-based applications provide eight save-state slots per game. Optional Dropbox linking can share save data and settings across devices and let the feed editor upload local files; access is restricted to the Dropbox account’s /Apps/webrcade folder. Single-item links can be shared, added to iOS or Android home screens, or embedded in web pages. The project prioritizes popular-content compatibility and lower resource needs over the latest emulator features. It is listed for Android, iOS, macOS, web and Windows.