Best Game Boy Advance Emulators in 2026
Updated
In short: RetroArch is ranked #1 of 29 as of 8 October 2026, ahead of mGBA and Provenance. The best-ranked option with a free plan is mGBA. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Provenance at $3.33/mo.
A Game Boy Advance emulator can vary in which devices it supports and which play features it provides. Compare platform scope with link multiplayer, save states and cheat support, and look at graphics enhancements if visual options matter to you. Open-source status, free-plan availability and paid-from pricing provide further points of comparison. RetroArch, RustBoyAdvance-NG and ares are among the entries shown. Think about where you want to play and whether multiplayer, enhanced graphics or the ability to save and resume matters most, then use the listed criteria to assess the available choices.
29 Game Boy advance emulators ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
Game Boy Advance Emulators, one module each. A lit port is something its maker publishes; 0 of the 25 on this page have a public API.
- 01 RetroArch API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 6.0Free
- 02 mGBA API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.9Free
- 03 Provenance API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.9$3.33/mo
- 04 RustBoyAdvance-NG API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.9Free
- 05 VisualBoyAdvance-M API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.9Free
- 06 ares API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8Free
- 07 Delta API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8Free
- 08 gbajs3 API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8Free
- 09 Hemulator API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8Free
- 10 John NESS API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8Free
- 11 Lemuroid API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8Free
- 12 NanoBoyAdvance API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8Free
- 13 OpenEmu API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8Free
- 14 Pizza Boy C API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8Free
- 15 SkyEmu API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8Free
- 16 GBA Emulator API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.6
- 17 Ghost Commander API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.6
- 18 GSE API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.6
- 19 Retra API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.6
- 20 Mednafen API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.5
- 21 Gaemboy API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.4
- 22 Lynx.emu API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.4
- 23 44VBA API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.0
- 24 GiiBiiAdvance API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.0
- 25 Sapphire API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.0
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Platform scope | Save states |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RetroArch | 6.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 2 | mGBA | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 3 | Provenance | 5.9 | Free plan | $3.33/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 4 | RustBoyAdvance-NG | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | desktop and mobile | Yes |
| 5 | VisualBoyAdvance-M | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 6 | ares | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 7 | Delta | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 8 | gbajs3 | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | desktop and mobile | Yes |
| 9 | Hemulator | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | desktop | Yes |
| 10 | John NESS | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | mobile | Yes |
| 11 | Lemuroid | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | mobile | Yes |
| 12 | NanoBoyAdvance | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | desktop | Yes |
| 13 | OpenEmu | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 14 | Pizza Boy C | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 15 | SkyEmu | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 16 | GBA Emulator | 5.6 | No | — | Yes | — | desktop | Yes |
| 17 | Ghost Commander | 5.6 | No | — | Yes | 4.99 one-time | mobile | Yes |
| 18 | GSE | 5.6 | No | — | Yes | — | desktop and mobile | Yes |
| 19 | Retra | 5.6 | No | — | Yes | — | mobile | Yes |
| 20 | Mednafen | 5.5 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 21 | Gaemboy | 5.4 | No | — | Yes | — | desktop and mobile | Yes |
| 22 | Lynx.emu | 5.4 | No | — | Yes | — | desktop and mobile | Yes |
| 23 | 44VBA | 5.0 | No | — | — | — | desktop and mobile | — |
| 24 | GiiBiiAdvance | 5.0 | No | — | Yes | — | desktop | — |
| 25 | Sapphire | 5.0 | No | — | — | — | desktop and mobile | Yes |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which Game Boy advance emulator is ranked first on Inferse?
RetroArch is ranked #1 of 29 with a score of 6.0. mGBA is second and Provenance third.
How many of these have a free plan?
15 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Provenance has the lowest first paid tier we found: $3.33/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it.