Software Alternatives & Reviews

SparkyLinux VS Lakka

Compare SparkyLinux VS Lakka and see what are their differences

SparkyLinux logo SparkyLinux

The project page of SparkyLinux distribution

Lakka logo Lakka

Lakka is the official Linux distribution of RetroArch and the libretro ecosystem.
  • SparkyLinux Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-09
  • Lakka Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-30

SparkyLinux videos

SparkyLinux - Fast, User Friendly and Brilliant

More videos:

  • Review - SparkyLinux - Fast and Lightweight Debian

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 SparkyLinux and Lakka)
Operating Systems
100 100%
0% 0
Gaming
0 0%
100% 100
Linux
75 75%
25% 25
Gaming Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using SparkyLinux and Lakka. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

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

SparkyLinux Reviews

13 Best Linux distros for gaming in 2022
Overall, if you’re an avid gamer inclined towards playing games on an emulator, it’s a game over once you install the SparkyLinux – Gameover edition.
Best Linux Distro for Gaming
SparkyLinux is a lightweight Linux distro with a special release for gaming – the GameOver Edition. It’s based on Debian Stable and it uses the Xfce DE. Similar to GamePack, it’s a distro with a lot of games and emulators pre-installed. If you prefer a lightweight Linux gaming distro that you can also use as a daily driver, this might be a good choice for you.
Source: linuxstans.com

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, Lakka should be more popular than SparkyLinux. It has been mentiond 5 times since March 2021. 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.

SparkyLinux mentions (2)

  • GamerOS Renamed to ChimeraOS
    Https://sparkylinux.org/ that one I guess. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • will kubntu be faster on my laptop than windows 7?
    Go with Debian or one in its derivative, sparkylinux is a good one, I would pick the 5.14 LXqt iso. Source: about 3 years ago

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 SparkyLinux and Lakka, you can also consider the following products

Anarchy Linux - A distro that helps setting up a Archlinux system.

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.

Manjaro - Manjaro Linux is a linux distribution which is based on arch linux. It uses the PACMAN package manager.

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

Siduction - Siduction Forum - Index

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.