Private and open-source alternatives to BlueStacks
15 emulators and compatibility layers rated against the same public privacy criteria as BlueStacks, with our picks first.
Why look for an alternative?
- Open source: no. Closed source.
- No trackers or telemetry: no. The website and services use Google Analytics and advertising cookies.
- No ads or data sales: no. Shows third-party ads, and the privacy policy allows sharing non-identifying user data with advertisers for targeting.
- Independent audit: no. No independent audit is published.
See the full BlueStacks rating.
The alternatives
Azahar Grade B
Open source Nintendo 3DS emulator based on Citra, for desktop and Android.
Azahar scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the emulators and compatibility layers criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Cemu Grade B
Open source emulator for the Nintendo Wii U.
Cemu scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the emulators and compatibility layers criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
DuckStation Grade B
Emulator for the Sony PlayStation (PS1) for desktop and Android, with source code published under a non-commercial Creative Commons license.
DuckStation scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the emulators and compatibility layers criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
MAME Grade B
Open source emulator for arcade machines and many vintage computers and consoles, aimed at preserving and documenting hardware.
MAME scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the emulators and compatibility layers criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
PCSX2 Grade B
Open source emulator for the Sony PlayStation 2.
PCSX2 scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the emulators and compatibility layers criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Waydroid Grade B
Open source tool that runs a full Android system in a container on Linux, using LXC and Wayland.
Waydroid scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the emulators and compatibility layers criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
TrinityEmulator Grade D
Research Android emulator for Windows, built on QEMU, that runs Android-x86 and renders graphics through a technique called graphics projection. Released as a beta research artifact.
TrinityEmulator scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the emulators and compatibility layers criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
Wine Grade D
Open source compatibility layer that runs Windows applications on Linux, macOS and other Unix-like systems.
Wine scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the emulators and compatibility layers criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
xemu Grade D
Open source emulator for the original Microsoft Xbox, based on QEMU.
xemu scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the emulators and compatibility layers criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
Dolphin Grade D
Open source emulator for the Nintendo GameCube and Wii consoles.
Dolphin scores 40 out of 100 (grade D) on the emulators and compatibility layers criteria. It meets 1 of 4 criteria: open source.
Android Emulator Grade F
Google's emulator for running Android virtual devices on a computer, included with Android Studio and based on QEMU.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Android Emulator scores 30 out of 100 (grade F) on the emulators and compatibility layers criteria. It meets 1 of 4 criteria: open source.
PPSSPP Grade F
Open source emulator for the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP).
PPSSPP scores 30 out of 100 (grade F) on the emulators and compatibility layers criteria. It meets 1 of 4 criteria: open source.
RetroArch Grade F
Open source frontend for the libretro API that runs emulators, game engines and media players (cores) through one interface.
RetroArch scores 30 out of 100 (grade F) on the emulators and compatibility layers criteria. It meets 1 of 4 criteria: open source.
RPCS3 Grade F
Open source emulator for the Sony PlayStation 3.
RPCS3 scores 30 out of 100 (grade F) on the emulators and compatibility layers criteria. It meets 1 of 4 criteria: open source.
CrossOver Grade F
Commercial Wine-based compatibility layer from CodeWeavers that runs Windows applications on macOS, Linux and ChromeOS.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). CrossOver scores 25 out of 100 (grade F) on the emulators and compatibility layers criteria. It partly meets open source and no ads or data sales.