Folium AlternativesGame Emulators and other similar apps like Folium

Folium is described as 'Beautifully designed, high performing multi-system emulator that allows you to play video games from retro consoles and handhelds, currently including cores for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS' and is a Game Emulator in the gaming software category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Folium for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iPhone apps. The best Folium alternative is RetroArch, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Folium are Lemuroid, VisualBoyAdvance, Delta Emulator and mGBA.

Folium iconFolium
  1
  • ...

Folium is a beautifully designed, high performing multi-system emulator that allows you to play video games from retro...

More about Folium
More about Folium
Folium alternatives page was last updated May 13, 2025
Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard
  1. RetroArch icon

    RetroArch

     293 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    A fast, modular emulator frontend offering portability and extensive support for systems from arcade consoles to mobile platforms, featuring game engines like Doom and Quake, and capabilities for real-time rewinding and shader support on a variety of devices.

    134 RetroArch alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Blackberry
    • iPad
    • F-Droid
    • Steam
    • Raspberry Pi
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
    Main view

    RetroArch Features

    1.  Multi System Emulator
    2.  Multiplatform
    3.  Emulation
    4.  Controller Support
    5.  Modular System
    6.  Gameboy emulation
    7.  Dark Mode
    8.  Variety
    9.  Rewind button
    10.  Portable

    RetroArch VS Folium

     

    • RetroArch is the most popular Web-based, Windows, Android & Mac alternative to Folium.

    • RetroArch is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Folium.

    • RetroArch is Free and Open SourceFolium is Paid and Open Source
  2. Lemuroid icon

    Lemuroid

     32 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Lemuroid is an open-source emulation project based on Libretro. It's completely free, without ads and focused on ease of use and good user experience.

    25 Lemuroid alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • IT flagItaly
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Android
    • F-Droid
    Lemuroid screenshot 1
    Lemuroid screenshot 2
    Lemuroid screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Playstation
    2.  Gameboy emulation
    3.  Emulation
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Dark Mode
    6.  Controller Support
    7.  Works Offline

    Lemuroid VS Folium

     
  4. VisualBoyAdvance icon

    VisualBoyAdvance

     156 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    VisualBoyAdvance (VBA) is a free software (GNU GPL) emulator targeted for the Game Boy, Super Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance handheld game consoles sold by Nintendo.

    35 VisualBoyAdvance alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • International

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • AmigaOS
    • MorphOS
    VisualBoyAdvance screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    The project is no longer developed. Last version, 1.8.0 beta 3, released in October 2005, can be still downloaded from FileHippo

    VisualBoyAdvance Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Emulation

    VisualBoyAdvance VS Folium

     
  5. Delta Emulator icon

    Delta Emulator

     26 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Delta is an iOS emulator that supports multiple game systems such as NES, SNES, N64, and DS, improving upon its predecessor, GBA4iOS.

    32 Delta Emulator alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • iPhone
    • AltStore
    • iPad
    Delta Emulator screenshot 1

    Delta Emulator Features

    1.  Cloud Sync
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Portable
    4.  Controller Support
    5.  Skins
    6.  Multiple windows

    Delta Emulator VS Folium

     
  6. mGBA icon

    mGBA

     32 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    mGBA is an open source emulator of the Game Boy Advance. The goals are speed and accuracy.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    mGBA screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Optimal performance

    Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Ad-free

    mGBA VS Folium

     
  7. Citra icon

    Citra

     27 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    An experimental open-source Nintendo 3DS emulator/debugger written in C++. At this time, it only emulates a very small subset of 3DS hardware, and therefore is only useful for booting/debugging very simple homebrew demos. Citra is licensed under the GPLv2. Refer to the license.

    15 Citra alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Flathub
    Citra screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    Citra has been officially discontinued and its source code removed from GitHub following a lawsuit settlement with Nintendo: Nintendo has won once again: Yuzu and Citra emulators are being discontinued immediately

    Citra VS Folium

     
  9. OpenEmu icon

    OpenEmu

     63 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Open Emu is an open source project to bring game emulation to OS X as a first class citizen, leveraging modern OS X technologies such as Cocoa, Core Animation and Quartz, and 3rd party libraries like Sparkle for auto-updating.

    41 OpenEmu alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    OpenEmu screenshot 1

    OpenEmu Features

    1.  Access the AppStore
    2.  Multi System Emulator

    OpenEmu VS Folium

     
  10. LaunchBox icon

    LaunchBox

     48 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    LaunchBox was originally built as an attractive frontend to DOSBox, but has since expanded to support both modern PC games and emulated console platforms. LaunchBox aims to be the one-stop shop for gaming on your computer, for both modern and...

    51 LaunchBox alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Android
    Immerse Yourself

    LaunchBox Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Front End Emulation
    3.  Game Launcher
    4.  Batch import
    5.  Launcher

    LaunchBox VS Folium

     
  11. Ludo icon

    Ludo

     19 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Ludo is an Emulator Frontend able to run retro video games. Ludo does not emulate the consoles itself, but does it through emulator plugins called libretro cores. Libretro cores are well known emulators (like Snes9x or Genesis Plus GX or PCSX) stripped from their user interface.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Ludo's user interface is distraction free and configuration is always optional.

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Emulation
    2.  Playstation

    Ludo VS Folium

     
  12. Azahar icon

    Azahar

     4 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    An open-source 3DS emulator project based on Citra.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Azahar screenshot 1
    Azahar screenshot 2
    Azahar screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  Emulation

    Azahar VS Folium

     
  13. Visual Boy Advance-M icon

    Visual Boy Advance-M

     29 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    VisualBoyAdvance (commonly abbreviated as VBA) is a free emulator of the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance handheld game consoles as well as of Super Game Boy and Super Game Boy 2.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • International

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    Visual Boy Advance-M screenshot 1

    Visual Boy Advance-M Features

    1.  Gameboy emulation

    Visual Boy Advance-M VS Folium

     
  14. Ares (Formerly Higan / BSNES) icon

    Ares (Formerly Higan / BSNES)

     47 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Ares, which apparently replaced higan, was formerly known as bsnes. The project was renamed after becoming a multi-system emulator.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    Ares (Formerly Higan / BSNES) Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Multi System Emulator

    Ares (Formerly Higan / BSNES) VS Folium

     
12 of 37 Folium alternatives