Best crater Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 platforms from game gear emulators ranked against crater on the same published basis.
- 1crater vs Gearlynx
- 2crater vs Genesis Plus GX
- 3crater vs MAME
- 4crater vs MEKA
- 5crater vs RetroArch
- 6crater vs MasterGear
- 7crater vs Provenance
- 8crater vs Retropa
- 9crater vs ares
- 10crater vs BlastEm
- 11crater vs Dega
- 12crater vs Emulicious
- 13crater vs Hemulator
- 14crater vs higan
- 15crater vs Lemuroid
- 16crater vs OpenEmu
- 17crater vs PicoDrive
- 18crater vs Virtual Jaguar
- 19crater vs NostalgiaLite
- 20crater vs BizHawk
crater alternatives compared
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gearlynx | 7.0 | No | — | Android, API, Browser, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 2 | Genesis Plus GX | 6.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Windows |
| 3 | MAME | 6.0 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 4 | MEKA | 6.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 5 | RetroArch | 6.0 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 6 | MasterGear | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Windows |
| 7 | Provenance | 5.9 | Free plan | $3.33/mo | iOS, Mac |
| 8 | Retropa | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | iOS, Mac |
| 9 | ares | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 10 | BlastEm | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 11 | Dega | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Windows |
| 12 | Emulicious | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 13 | Hemulator | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 14 | higan | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 15 | Lemuroid | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Android |
| 16 | OpenEmu | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Mac |
| 17 | PicoDrive | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted, Windows |
| 18 | Virtual Jaguar | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 19 | NostalgiaLite | 5.6 | No | — | Android |
| 20 | BizHawk | 5.5 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
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Questions about crater alternatives
What is the best alternative to crater?
Gearlynx, number 1 in game gear emulators with a score of 7.0 out of 10. The others here: Genesis Plus GX, MAME, MEKA and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to crater?
Genesis Plus GX is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 17 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives 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.