Best mGBA Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from game console emulators ranked against mGBA on the same published basis.
- 1mGBA vs RetroArch
- 2mGBA vs Dolphin
- 3mGBA vs PPSSPP
- 4mGBA vs Azahar
- 5mGBA vs DuckStation
- 6mGBA vs Snes9x
- 7mGBA vs Vita3K
- 8mGBA vs Play!
- 9mGBA vs ares
- 10mGBA vs Flycast
- 11mGBA vs OpenEmu
- 12mGBA vs Redream
- 13mGBA vs Panda3DS
- 14mGBA vs RPCS3
- 15mGBA vs Mednafen
- 16mGBA vs Mesen
- 17mGBA vs VisualBoyAdvance-M
- 18mGBA vs xemu
- 19mGBA vs SameBoy
- 20mGBA vs melonDS
mGBA alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RetroArch | 9.8 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 2 | Dolphin | 9.2 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 3 | PPSSPP | 9.2 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 4 | Azahar | 9.2 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 5 | DuckStation | 8.8 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 6 | Snes9x | 8.7 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 7 | Vita3K | 8.1 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux, Android |
| 8 | Play! | 8.1 | No | — | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 9 | ares | 8.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 10 | Flycast | 7.9 | No | — | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 11 | OpenEmu | 7.8 | Free plan | Free | Mac |
| 12 | Redream | 7.6 | No | — | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 13 | Panda3DS | 7.6 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 14 | RPCS3 | 7.4 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 15 | Mednafen | 7.3 | No | — | Linux, Windows |
| 16 | Mesen | 7.1 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 17 | VisualBoyAdvance-M | 7.1 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux, Android |
| 18 | xemu | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 19 | SameBoy | 7.0 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS |
| 20 | melonDS | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
Make your app an alternative to mGBA
See the priceThe sponsored alternative slot on this page is labelled and never changes the order above.
Questions about mGBA alternatives
What is the best alternative to mGBA?
RetroArch, number 1 in game console emulators with a score of 9.8 out of 10. The others here: Dolphin, PPSSPP, Azahar and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to mGBA?
RetroArch is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 12 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked mobile-first: a phone app alongside the web or desktop product, a free tier and the depth of its documentation. Paid placements never change a rank.