Free and legal emulators
An emulator is legal software. What is not legal is downloading games (ROMs) or BIOS files you do not own. LicitPro only lists the emulators themselves, from their official sites.
Data as of 6 November 2026 · 30 resources selected, all published after their official site and free status were verified at a reliable source.
Quick answer
Free and legal emulators
| Resource | License | Platforms | Pricing | Checked on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bottles | GPL-3.0-only | Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| Dolphin Emulator | GPL-2.0-or-later | Windows, macOS, Linux and Android | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| PPSSPP | GPL-2.0-or-later | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| melonDS | GPL-3.0-only | Windows and Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| xemu | GPL-2.0-only | Windows, macOS and Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| PrimeHack | GPL-2.0-or-later | Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| PCSX2 | GPL-3.0-or-later | Windows and Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| Boxes | LGPL-2.1-or-later | Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| RetroDECK | GPL-3.0-only | Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| RPCS3 | GPL-2.0-only | Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| Virtual Machine Manager | GPL-2.0-or-later | Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| Azahar | GPL-2.0-only | Windows, macOS, Linux and Android | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| Rosalie's Mupen GUI | GPL-3.0-only | Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| Flycast | GPL-2.0-only | Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| Cemu | MPL-2.0 | Windows and Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| mGBA | MPL-2.0 | Windows and Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| MAME | GPL-2.0-or-later | Windows and Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| Snes9x | Proprietary | Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| WineZGUI | GPL-3.0-or-later | Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| WineCharm | GPL-3.0-or-later | Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| Ruffle | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | Windows, Linux and Android | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| Gopher64 | GPL-3.0-only | Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| DOSBox-X | GPL-2.0-only | Windows, macOS and Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| Parallel Launcher | GPL-3.0-only | Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| DOSBox Staging | GPL-2.0-or-later | Windows and Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| ZSNES | GPL-2.0-only | Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| ares | ISC | Windows and Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| VisualBoyAdvance-M | GPL-2.0-only | Windows and Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| DeSmuME | GPL-2.0-or-later | Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
| DOSBox | GPL-2.0-only | Linux | Completely free | 6 November 2026 |
What the data shows
- 29 of 30 are open source.
Good to know
To play legally: dump your own cartridges or discs, or use homebrew games and games freely distributed by their authors.
How this list is built
Order: most complete free offer first (no strings, then with conditions, then limited free version), then a popularity index computed from public signals (installs in official catalogues, repository stars, presence in several sources). No position can be bought.