Software Alternatives & Reviews

Retropie VS Lakka

Compare Retropie VS Lakka and see what are their differences

Retropie logo Retropie

RetroPie allows you to turn your Raspberry Pi or PC into a retro-gaming machine.

Lakka logo Lakka

Lakka is the official Linux distribution of RetroArch and the libretro ecosystem.
  • Retropie Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-06
  • Lakka Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-30

Retropie videos

Review: RetroPie - Raspberry Pi 3

More videos:

  • Review - What Retropie Can Do
  • Review - RetroGamingBox | Raspberry Pi 3 | Retropie | Quick Review

Lakka videos

Lakka Emulator Frontend Running On Raspberry Pi 3 Emulation Station Alternative

More videos:

  • Review - What Is Lakka ? Retro Game System Explained
  • Tutorial - How to make a Retro Emulator Machine - Lakka OS Guide + Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Retropie and Lakka)
Gaming
58 58%
42% 42
Emulators
51 51%
49% 49
Gaming Tools
50 50%
50% 50
Video
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Retropie and Lakka. 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 Retropie and Lakka

Retropie Reviews

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Lakka Reviews

The best Linux distributions (operating systems)
Lakka OS is a lightweight distribution that lets users convert old computers into retro game consoles. The operating system is based on LibreELEC and uses the RetroArch front-end. Once set up, Lakka OS works cross-platform and numerous old console games can be installed.
Source: www.ionos.com
13 Best Linux distros for gaming in 2022
All the emulators are compiled with the best optimizations possible and so Lakka OS runs the games more smoothly than the normal emulators. Most games will require very few hardware resource, except for the Playstation or Xbox games.
Best Linux Distro for Gaming
Lakka is a lightweight Linux retro gaming distro that turns your computer into a retro gaming console. It’s so lightweight, it can even run on a mini-PC like a Raspberry Pi. It’s still being actively developed and worked on. Lakka uses the RetroArch emulator, so you can play all types of games on this distro, including running emulated N64, PlayStation, PSP, NES, Sega,...
Source: linuxstans.com
9 Best Linux Gaming Distributions in 2021
All the emulators are compiled with the best optimizations possible and so Lakka OS runs the games more smoothly than the normal emulators. Most games will require very few hardware resource, except for the Playstation or Xbox games.
Source: itsfoss.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Retropie seems to be a lot more popular than Lakka. While we know about 86 links to Retropie, we've tracked only 5 mentions of Lakka. 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.

Retropie mentions (86)

  • Super Mario 64 on the Web
    I agree! I picked up [RetroPie](https://retropie.org.uk/) again during the pandemic. I'm sure many did the same haha. That's when I learned [N64 emulation is difficult](https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Optimization-for-Nintendo-64/). Well done. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Plug and play retro home console suggestion?
    I would have thought a well set-up Raspberry pie running RetroPie in a nice case (e.g. https://thepihut.com/products/superpi-4-case-for-raspberry-pi-4) and a couple of decent controllers would be the best thing. Source: 5 months ago
  • My First Raspberry Pi Project: Portable Retro Game Console
    This website has step by step instructions on how to set up a RetroPie. It is really easy. Source: 10 months ago
  • Gpu in emulator pc
    The most I am familiar with emulators of that era is retro pi https://retropie.org.uk/. Source: 11 months ago
  • RetroPie.org safe
    Https://retropie.org.uk/ is the official site. Source: 11 months ago
View more

Lakka mentions (5)

  • New RG351v owner, what should I do first?
    While it's not there, if you don't want to bother with emulationstation and would just like basic retroarch, there is also a build of Lakka (pure retroarch) available for the 351v. Source: 10 months ago
  • Best console for emulation? Looking for something simple
    I think there'll be another providers of such kits in the USA, but I don't know them. Perhaps also on EBay. The Magic words are "lakka.tv", "recalbox" and "retropie" for ready-to-go and easy to use raspi emulations boxes. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • MAME 0.242
    Maybe something like Lakka[1]? It supports many game consoles, but I believe MAME is part of it. [1]: https://lakka.tv/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Planning on making an arcade machine from a pi zero w 2 and a crt tv, any tips?
    Most peoples go to package is RetroPie, and don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad option…. But in my experience, http://lakka.tv is a bit cleaner, more lightweight, and has less compatibility issues / hurdles that you need to jump through for some features…. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Help making emulator stick !
    You mean a USB to boot on a PC? Check out Lakka or Batocera. Source: over 2 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Retropie and Lakka, you can also consider the following products

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.

RetroArch - RetroArch is a frontend for emulators, game engines and media players.

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

RetroBat - RETROBAT RetroBat is a software distribution designed for emulation and to be the easiest way to enjoy your game collection on your Windows computer.

EmulationStation - a graphical emulator front-end

Drauger OS - Drauger OS is an Ubuntu-based Linux desktop gaming distribution that ships with many modifications and optimizations over stock Ubuntu that are intended to improve gaming performance and the gaming experience.