Best Nintendo 3DS Emulators in 2026
Updated
In short: Azahar is ranked #1 of 13 as of 3 October 2026, ahead of AzaharPlus and Panda3DS. The best-ranked option with a free plan is AzaharPlus.
13 nintendo 3ds emulators ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
| # | Platform | Score | Why | From | Free plan | Paid from | Supported platforms | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Azahar | 7.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 2 |  AzaharPlus | 7.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | — | — | Windows, Linux, Android | View |
| 3 | Panda3DS | 7.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android | View |
| 4 |  3Beans | 6.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Windows, macOS, Linux | View |
| 5 |  Mandarine-Neo | 6.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android | View |
| 6 |  Tanuki3DS | 6.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | macOS, Linux, Windows | View |
| 7 |  LunaDS | 6.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | iOS, macOS | View |
| 8 |  Citra MMJ | 6.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Windows, Linux, macOS | View |
| 9 |  CitraVR | 5.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S | View |
| 10 |  Folium | 5.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | iOS, iPadOS | View |
| 11 | Borked3DS | 5.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android | View |
| 12 |  emuThreeDS | 4.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | iOS | View |
| 13 |  Manic EMU | 4.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | iOS | View |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which nintendo 3ds emulator is ranked first on Inferse?
Azahar is ranked #1 of 13 with a score of 7.6. AzaharPlus is second and Panda3DS third.
How many of these have a free plan?
5 of the 13 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
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. Paid placements never change a rank.