Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Stadia VS RetroArch

Compare Stadia VS RetroArch and see what are their differences

Stadia logo Stadia

A new gaming platform from Google

RetroArch logo RetroArch

RetroArch is a frontend for emulators, game engines and media players.
  • Stadia Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-07
  • RetroArch Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-22

Stadia videos

Google Stadia Review (2020 Update)

More videos:

  • Review - Google Stadia Review
  • Review - Google Stadia Review. Is it Better Two Months Later?

RetroArch videos

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

More videos:

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Stadia and RetroArch)
Games
100 100%
0% 0
Gaming
10 10%
90% 90
Game Streaming
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 Stadia and RetroArch

Stadia Reviews

5 Best Google Stadia Alternatives 2020 | Cloud Gaming Services
Google Stadia has come a long way since its initial launch, which was nothing short of disastrous. Whenever it’s working at full capacity, we’ve found it to be advantageous. However, with the Google Stadia alternatives, on the market, it’s still worth experimenting with because they all have their host of pros and cons.
7 Best Cloud Gaming Services for 2020 (No. 3 is My Favorite)
Google Stadia is not oriented towards game ownership. This isn’t surprising, as it’s a Google service, but other platforms let you play games you own or buy games that you can then play later on other devices/platforms (on Steam, for example).
Source: hostingpill.com
Stream games with these Google Stadia alternatives
Google Stadia’s way to stream games may prove to be a rising tide that lifts all boats, a universally enjoyed boon to streaming services everywhere. But while its lumbering figure wading onto the scene has already done quite a bit for validating cloud gaming, it won’t be available to all until 2020. Not to worry, Google’s arrival on the scene has not deterred its numerous...
15 game streaming services you can try before Google Stadia arrives
If you’re interested in streaming your own desktop PC games to your PC, Mac, phone, tablet, or console, you can try one of a variety of cloud gaming and in-home streaming options today. (Some of them are free!) If you’d prefer to stream games that you don’t already own, a few companies already have Netflix-like catalogs of games you can stream before Google Stadia arrives on...

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, Stadia should be more popular than RetroArch. It has been mentiond 98 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.

Stadia mentions (98)

  • GeForce NOW as a Gaming Laptop Replacement?
    Cloud gaming became popular for that reason. See, the goal is to eventually create devices that are cheap, functional, less resource hungry, and capable of streaming 4k experiences. The computational power is processed in the cloud, while the accessibility is present for everyone. For example, this was the motivation behind the creation of Chromebooks and Puffin Phone OS. While it is not moving as quickly as they... Source: about 1 year ago
  • Driving a Shapeoko Pro with a bluetooth Stadia controller
    Google recently turned down the Stadia service and refunded everyone for their games and hardware. Users were able to keep their hardware, but the controller was a brick until the Stadia team published updated firmware that enabled it to be used as a standard bluetooth controller. Source: over 1 year ago
  • What’s the difference between LG OLED55C2AUA (Costco) and LG OLED55C2PUA (Amazon, BestBuy)?
    What the -, wow. That didn't take long. https://stadia.google.com/gg/ Glad I didn't keep trying to use it on my Chromebook with an Xbox controller. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Google Unveils Chromebooks with High Refresh Rate Displays & RGB Keyboards for Gaming Using Cloud Gaming Services like GeForce Now and Amazon Luna. Thoughts?
    Haha. Well if they really want to they can give 30 days free Stadia with these Chromebooks because it's scheduled to be killed after 3 months - https://stadia.google.com/. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Can't claim the October Freebies
    Use a browser instead of the app and you should be able to claim them. stadia.google.com. Source: over 1 year 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: about 1 year 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: about 1 year ago
  • Malicious download links?
    Yes, only the retroarch.com and libretro.com websites were affected. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Recent update from supposed hackers
    I went to retroarch.com and it said "discord.gg/evaderz is big haxors" its unrespectable. Source: about 1 year 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: about 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

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

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

OpenEmu - Console and Arcade video game emulator for macOS.

Shadow - Transform any device into a supercharged gaming machine.

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

Parsec - Streams games locally or over the internet

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