Software Alternatives & Reviews

Playnite VS RetroArch

Compare Playnite VS RetroArch and see what are their differences

Playnite logo Playnite

Source code generated using layoutit.com

RetroArch logo RetroArch

RetroArch is a frontend for emulators, game engines and media players.
  • Playnite Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-05
  • RetroArch Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-22

Playnite

Categories
  • Gaming
  • Emulators
  • Gaming Tools
  • Online Games
Website playnite.link
Details $

RetroArch

Categories
  • Gaming
  • Emulators
  • Media Player
  • Gaming Tools
Website retroarch.com
Details $-

Playnite videos

Checking out the Playnite 5.5 Update and it's damned good

More videos:

  • Review - Is the best Launcher even BETTER? - Playnite 5 Review
  • Review - Playnite games launcher Quick Look and Impressions
  • Demo - Youtube.com

RetroArch videos

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

More videos:

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Playnite and RetroArch)
Gaming
37 37%
63% 63
Games
100 100%
0% 0
Emulators
23 23%
77% 77
Gaming Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Playnite and RetroArch. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

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

Playnite Reviews

Best Free Game Launcher for Windows PC
Presenting you, Playnite, a game launcher, containing a nice set of features. In this, you can scan the games on your device, get a nice combination of features with a user-friendly UI. You will not only get a launcher but also emulators.
Top 6 best launcher games to launch and organize PC games
This is due to the open source of the project. Playnite has many contributions and so it grows quickly. In addition to the launcher, Playnite also supports many emulators, it can handle retro games effectively.
Source: tipsmake.com

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, Playnite seems to be a lot more popular than RetroArch. While we know about 286 links to Playnite, 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.

Playnite mentions (286)

  • I wrote an app for myself to filter my library by HLTB
    I've done something similar before with Playnite (an open-source PC game library manager), which has an HLTB plugin. Source: 4 months ago
  • Tags no longer register and i've finally had it with galaxy 2.0. Any recommended alternatives?
    Playnite: The one with the most features and libraries available via addons and has a lot of options for customization. In my opinion the best one available for this purpose. Source: 4 months ago
  • What tools do I install?
    As for my LGO, the only other app I've installed outside of the standard launcher was Playnite to consolidate all games into one place as Legion Space doesn't detect everything I have installed and I don't want to manage manually adding games to their launcher. Source: 4 months ago
  • Login in to various stores when launching games
    Use playnite instead of the individual launchers. Source: 4 months ago
  • Steam Deck OLED
    Here is where I come in and recommend everyone check out Playnite: https://playnite.link/ When I care about supporting a developer or publisher and they offer their product on their own storefront DRM-free, I will often go there to buy. Or I buy from GoG which takes a smaller cut. Playnite lets me launch my Steam and non-Steam games in a seamless fashion. Steam still does a great job as a game installer/patch... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
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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 Playnite and RetroArch, you can also consider the following products

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

OpenEmu - Console and Arcade video game emulator for macOS.

Lutris - Lutris is an open source gaming platform for GNU/Linux.

Batocera.linux - Batocera.linux is an open-source and completely free retro-gaming distribution that can be copied to a USB stick or an SD card with the aim of turning any computer/nano computer into a gaming console during a game or permanently.

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

GOG Galaxy - Truly gamer friendly, DRM-free online gaming platform.