RetroArch Alternatives for Windows

There are many alternatives to RetroArch for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best Windows alternative is DuckStation, which is free. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to RetroArch and loads of them are available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Windows alternatives to RetroArch are Lakka, VisualBoyAdvance, Ludo and Snes9x.

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RetroArch alternatives are mainly Game Emulators, but if you're looking for Game Library Managers or DOS Emulators you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Android, Linux, Windows and iPhone. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to RetroArch.
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Alternatives list

  1. DuckStation icon
     49 likes

    DuckStation is an simulator/emulator of the Sony PlayStation(TM) console, focusing on playability, speed, and long-term maintainability.

    13 DuckStation alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • AppImageHub
    • Flathub
     
    |
    1
    Comments about DuckStation as an Alternative to RetroArch
    Douze
    Negative
    4

    DuckStation is an emulator, whereas RetroArch is a front-end for multiple emulators and the games using them.

    DuckStation icon
    DuckStation icon
    • DuckStation is Free and ProprietaryRetroArch is Free and Open Source
    • DuckStation is LightweightRetroArch is not according to our users
  2. Lakka icon
     37 likes

    Lakka is the official Linux distribution of RetroArch and the libretro ecosystem. Each game system is implemented as a libretro core, while the frontend RetroArch takes care of inputs and display.

    37 Lakka alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Cubieboard
    • HummingBoard
    • Raspberry Pi
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Odroid
     
  3. VisualBoyAdvance icon
     156 likes

    VisualBoyAdvance (VBA) is a free software (GNU GPL) emulator targeted for the Game Boy, Super Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance handheld game consoles sold by Nintendo.

    41 VisualBoyAdvance alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • AmigaOS
    • MorphOS
     
    |
    2
    Comments about VisualBoyAdvance as an Alternative to RetroArch
    DifferentDance8Real
    Negative
    1

    VBA is specifically for the GBA console, whereas RetroArch can handle any console

    Guest
    Negative
    -14

    Retroarch is for ios VBA is for windows

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    VisualBoyAdvance icon
    VisualBoyAdvance icon
    • VisualBoyAdvance is Free and Open SourceRetroArch is also Free and Open Source
  4. Ludo icon
     21 likes

    Ludo is an Emulator Frontend able to run retro video games. Ludo does not emulate the consoles itself, but does it through emulator plugins called libretro cores. Libretro cores are well known emulators (like Snes9x or Genesis Plus GX or PCSX) stripped from their user interface.

    36 Ludo alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  5. Snes9x icon
     149 likes

    Snes9x is a portable, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) emulator. It allows you to play most games designed for the SNES and Super Famicom Nintendo game systems on your PC.

    30 Snes9x alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
    |
    1
    Comments about Snes9x as an Alternative to RetroArch
    Guest
    Negative
    8

    Retroarch is not an emulator. Retroarch is a frontend for Libretro, which is a backend in which "cores" can be implemented and then run through a frontend(RA in this case.) These cores are emulators, and are what do most of the work of emulating systems. The vast majority of Libretro cores are simply preexisting emulators (like Snes9x!) ported into the Libretro API.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Snes9x icon
    Snes9x icon
    • Snes9x is Free and Open SourceRetroArch is also Free and Open Source
  6. ScummVM icon
     125 likes

    ScummVM is a program which allows you to run certain classic graphical point-and-click adventure games, provided you already have their data files.

    13 ScummVM alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Windows Mobile
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Symbian S60
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
    • AmigaOS
    • MorphOS
     
    |
    1
    Comments about ScummVM as an Alternative to RetroArch
    Douze
    Negative
    2

    ScummVM is an emulator, whereas RetroArch is a front-end for multiple emulators and the games using them.

    ScummVM icon
    ScummVM icon
    • ScummVM is Free and Open SourceRetroArch is also Free and Open Source
  7. PPSSPP icon
     85 likes

    PPSSPP is a PSP emulator written in C++, and translates PSP CPU instructions directly into optimized x86, x64 and ARM machine code, using JIT recompilers (dynarecs).

    10 PPSSPP alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Blackberry
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • iPad
    • Android Tablet
    • Meta Quest
     
    |
    1
    Comments about PPSSPP as an Alternative to RetroArch
    Douze
    Negative
    5

    PPSSPP is an emulator, whereas RetroArch is a front-end for multiple emulators and the games using them.

    PPSSPP icon
    PPSSPP icon
    • PPSSPP is Free and Open SourceRetroArch is also Free and Open Source
  8. Mame icon
     94 likes

    MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. When used in conjunction with images of the original arcade game's ROM and disk data, MAME attempts to reproduce that game as faithfully as possible on a more modern general-purpose computer.

    24 Mame alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • AmigaOS
    • MorphOS
     
    |
    1
    Comments about Mame as an Alternative to RetroArch
    Douze
    Negative
    0

    Mame is an emulator, whereas RetroArch is a front-end for multiple emulators and the games using them.

    Mame icon
    Mame icon
    • Mame is Free and Open SourceRetroArch is also Free and Open Source
  9. ZSNES icon
     198 likes

    ZSNES is a Super Nintendo Entertainment System emulator. Aside from emulation accuracy, many interface features first introduced in ZSNES have been adopted by other emulators. ZSNES interface features include: Smoothing and dynamic image scaling; screenshot capture; state...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  10. mGBA icon
     33 likes

    mGBA is an open source emulator of the Game Boy Advance. The goals are speed and accuracy.

    39 mGBA alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
    |
    1
    Comments about mGBA as an Alternative to RetroArch
    Douze
    Negative
    3

    mGBA is an emulator, whereas RetroArch is a front-end for multiple emulators and the games using them.

    mGBA icon
    mGBA icon
    • mGBA is Free and Open SourceRetroArch is also Free and Open Source
    • mGBA is LightweightRetroArch is not according to our users
  11. Citra icon
     29 likes

    An experimental open-source Nintendo 3DS emulator/debugger written in C++. At this time, it only emulates a very small subset of 3DS hardware, and therefore is only useful for booting/debugging very simple homebrew demos. Citra is licensed under the GPLv2. Refer to the license.

    18 Citra alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Flathub
     
    |
    1
    Comments about Citra as an Alternative to RetroArch
    Douze
    Negative
    2

    Citra is an emulator, whereas RetroArch is a front-end for multiple emulators and the games using them.

    Citra icon
    Citra icon
    • Citra is Free and Open SourceRetroArch is also Free and Open Source
  12. Project64 icon
     112 likes

    Project64 is a Nintendo 64 emulator for the Windows platform. It employs a plugin system that allows 3rd party developers to implement their own software. It is an emulator, meaning that the user has the option to run ROM files that can be extracted from a Nintendo 64 game...

    24 Project64 alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
    |
    1
    Comments about Project64 as an Alternative to RetroArch
    Douze
    Negative
    2

    Project64 is an emulator, whereas RetroArch is a front-end for multiple emulators and the games using them.

    Project64 icon
    Project64 icon
    • Project64 is Free and Open SourceRetroArch is also Free and Open Source
12 of 92 RetroArch alternatives