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MAME

Free, open-source emulator for thousands of arcade machines and vintage computers.

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About MAME

MAME is the long-running reference emulator for arcade hardware, and over the years it has grown to cover home computers, consoles, calculators and other vintage machines too. Its stated goal is documenting and preserving how old hardware worked, with playability as a welcome side effect, so accuracy usually wins over speed. That makes it the default choice for arcade collections and cabinet builds, and the engine behind many front ends. MAME is free, the project as a whole is under GPL-2.0 with most of the core under BSD-3-Clause, and no game code ships with it: you supply ROM and disk images you are entitled to use. The team publishes official Windows binaries each month, while macOS and Linux users build it or get it from their distribution or community packages. The built-in interface is basic, and many people pair it with a separate front end.

Best for: Arcade collectors and cabinet builders who want the widest, most accurate hardware coverage.

Pros and cons

What works

  • Supports thousands of arcade boards and vintage systems
  • Accuracy-first development with monthly releases
  • Free and open source, used inside many front ends

Why people leave

  • ROM sets must match the MAME version, which confuses newcomers
  • Official binaries are Windows-only
  • Accuracy focus means heavier CPU needs for some systems

Top MAME alternatives

See all 4
  1. 1RetroArch logo
    RetroArch

    Wraps MAME and many console cores in one menu with shaders, netplay and controller mapping.

    66.5
  2. 2Supermodel logo
    Supermodel

    Dedicated Sega Model 3 emulator that runs games like Scud Race far better than MAME does.

    62.6
  3. 3Flycast logo
    Flycast

    Better choice for Sega Naomi and Atomiswave arcade games, with a friendlier interface.

    59.6
  4. 4OpenEmu logo
    OpenEmu

    Mac-native app with a library view, if you want a tidier experience than MAME's own UI.

    57.2

Why people left MAME

In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.

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Reviews

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MAME: common questions

Is MAME free?

Yes. MAME is free, open-source software.

Is MAME open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at mamedev/mame.

What platforms does MAME run on?

MAME is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.

What are the best alternatives to MAME?

The highest-ranked MAME alternatives right now are RetroArch, Supermodel and Flycast. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 4 MAME alternatives