Best ares Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 platforms from multi-system emulators ranked against ares on the same published basis.
- 1ares vs Virtual Jaguar
- 2ares vs RetroArch
- 3ares vs FinalBurn Neo
- 4ares vs MAME
- 5ares vs SkyEmu
- 6ares vs VICE
- 7ares vs Emulicious
- 8ares vs Flycast
- 9ares vs Provenance
- 10ares vs QEMU
- 11ares vs Delta
- 12ares vs Dolphin
- 13ares vs higan
- 15ares vs Atari800
- 16ares vs Genesis Plus GX
- 17ares vs Retropa
- 18ares vs Hemulator
- 19ares vs Lemuroid
- 20ares vs OpenEmu
- 21ares vs PicoDrive
ares alternatives compared
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virtual Jaguar | 7.5 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 2 | RetroArch | 7.4 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 3 | FinalBurn Neo | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 4 | MAME | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 5 | SkyEmu | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 6 | VICE | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 7 | Emulicious | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 8 | Flycast | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 9 | Provenance | 7.1 | Free plan | $3.33/mo | iOS, Mac |
| 10 | QEMU | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 11 | Delta | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | iOS, Mac |
| 12 | Dolphin | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 13 | higan | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 15 | Atari800 | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 16 | Genesis Plus GX | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Windows |
| 17 | Retropa | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | iOS, Mac |
| 18 | Hemulator | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 19 | Lemuroid | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Android |
| 20 | OpenEmu | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Mac |
| 21 | PicoDrive | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted, Windows |
Make your platform an alternative to ares
See the priceThe sponsored alternative slot on this page is labelled Sponsored.
Questions about ares alternatives
What is the best alternative to ares?
Virtual Jaguar, number 1 in multi-system emulators with a score of 7.5 out of 10. The others here: RetroArch, FinalBurn Neo, MAME and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to ares?
Virtual Jaguar is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 20 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going: documentation depth, a free tier or trial, and the platforms it runs on.