Software Alternatives & Reviews

Parsec VS RetroArch

Compare Parsec VS RetroArch and see what are their differences

Parsec logo Parsec

Streams games locally or over the internet

RetroArch logo RetroArch

RetroArch is a frontend for emulators, game engines and media players.
  • Parsec Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-09
  • RetroArch Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-22

Parsec videos

Is Parsec any good? First Impressions with UNIST, Skullgirls, and DBFZ

More videos:

  • Review - Gaming On A $17 Office PC with Parsec! | OzTalksHW
  • Review - Parsec Cloud Gaming Review

RetroArch videos

RetroArch - Getting Started! Your Ultimate Retro Gaming PC! [Setup and Demonstration]

More videos:

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Parsec and RetroArch)
Game Streaming
100 100%
0% 0
Gaming
0 0%
100% 100
Games
100 100%
0% 0
Emulators
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Parsec and RetroArch

Parsec Reviews

Top Remote Desktop Software for Gaming
Like AnyDesk or TeamViewer, Parsec was not initially an RDP gaming solution. It was developed primarily for developers and engineers who needed a remote connection to work on their projects. Thus, a main feature Parsec offered was great graphics.
Source: cloudzy.com
Moonlight game streaming alternatives
Released 6 years ago, Parsec is an application that lets users capture their desktop. This is mainly used by players to play games on their computers from different devices. Players can stream their games on their own personal computers for free through Parsec. But there is also an option to rent servers to play games on. Moreover, it prioritizes user safety over everything...
Source: androidgram.com
15 Best Parsec Alternatives [Remote Desktop Tools] in 2022
Parsec is a proprietary desktop capture application primarily used to play games via video streaming. Using Parsec, users can stream video game footage over an Internet connection, allowing one person to run the game on one computer but play it remotely from another device. While its primary focus is gaming, Parsec can also be used as a low-latency desktop sharing software.
Source: phreesite.com
10 Best Hamachi Alternatives for Virtual LAN Gaming
Parsec is a desktop capturing application mainly used for playing video games through video streaming. Still, it also allows the creation of virtual LAN gaming servers using the local co-op feature.
Source: techviral.net
11 Best Parsec Alternatives & Similar Apps
Parsec has been known for its ability to connect your smartphone to the desktop. However, some Parsec alternatives are also known for offering a lot more to their users.

RetroArch Reviews

Best DS Emulator: Are These Emulators Safe And Legal To Use?
RetroArch also supports a wide range of controller types, making it a great choice for gamers who want to use their favorite controller.
Source: appletoo.us
5 Best Nintendo DS Emulators for PC
It has highlights like RetroArch are shaders, netplay, rewinding, next-frame response times, run ahead, machine translation, blind accessibility features, and much more.
Best emulators for Android in 2023
RetroArch is a popular open-source front-end for emulators. If you’re into playing retro games, RetroArch is your one-stop shop for all your emulating needs. It's not an emulator by itself but instead allows you to add "cores" that act as the backend to emulate several legacy consoles. While most of its most popular emulators are already covered here by dedicated apps, it...
5 of the Best GameBoy Advance (GBA) Emulators for Android
RetroArch is a poster child worldwide of emulation, specifically due to the fact that it’s not precisely an emulator. The retroArch is best refer to as a solitary, unified application where you can communicate with other emulators.
4 Free Open Source Game Emulators For Windows PC, Linux, and macOS
In addition to this, you are able to run original game discs (CDs) from RetroArch. RetroArch has advanced features like shaders, netplay, rewinding, next-frame response times, runahead, machine translation, blind accessibility features, and more! What systems does it play?

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Parsec seems to be a lot more popular than RetroArch. While we know about 366 links to Parsec, we've tracked only 20 mentions of RetroArch. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Parsec mentions (366)

  • Are the Apple addicts ok?
    If that's an option, you could use a Macbook air and something like https://parsec.app/ to stream from a windows machine. Source: 5 months ago
  • Crossplay for the Overcooked! Series
    For PC players, there are unofficial ways to play with people online. Steam Remote Play Together and Parsec can be used to play the game online with other PC users. Source: 10 months ago
  • Mahvel lives!!!
    Its very similiar to those help desk apps, but allows you to limit what people can do while connected to your desktop and connect controllers. You can see more about it here if you're interested. Source: 10 months ago
  • Remote PC for school and gaming
    I think might want parsec https://parsec.app/. Source: 10 months ago
  • Citrix for personal use
    Not really. Look into Parsec, or Guacamole behind a reverse proxy. Source: 10 months ago
View more

RetroArch mentions (20)

  • RetroArch cannot be found on the PlayStore, the first result is a copycat. It is just me?
    No, isn't just you. Every 64-bit phone haves the Play Store Retroarch available, the 32-bits no. But you can still download the 32-bit version on the Retroarch website. Source: 11 months ago
  • Cause of the intrusion has been found and isolated. Sites are operational again.
    It was only the download links on retroarch.com on the Platforms page that got (briefly) redirected for a few hours. That should all be safe now. Source: 11 months ago
  • Malicious download links?
    Yes, only the retroarch.com and libretro.com websites were affected. Source: 11 months ago
  • Recent update from supposed hackers
    I went to retroarch.com and it said "discord.gg/evaderz is big haxors" its unrespectable. Source: 11 months ago
  • Latest RetroArch on Xiaomi Mi box
    I've got installed RetroArch Plus from Google Play on my Xiaomi Mi box 4k and I want to update it to the latest version. I downloaded apk from retroarch.com but when I use apk installer to update it say is not compatible. I removed version from Google Play but fresh install 1.15.0 is not compatible too. I tried 32 and 64 version. What I'm doing wrong? Is any other AndroidTV version? Source: 11 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Parsec and RetroArch, you can also consider the following products

Moonlight-Stream.org - Moonlight allows you to stream your collection of games from your GameStream-compatible PC to any...

OpenEmu - Console and Arcade video game emulator for macOS.

Geforce Now - Underpowered PC can now pack the punch of high-performance GeForce GTX GPUs with GeForce NOW.

LaunchBox - LaunchBox is a portable, box-art-based games database and launcher for DOSBox, emulators, arcade cabinets, and PC Games. Download it free!

Shadow - Transform any device into a supercharged gaming machine.

BSNES - bsnes is a Super Nintendo (SNES) emulator focused on performance, features, and ease of use.