Alternatives to Altirra
A cycle-exact emulator for Atari 8-bit computers and the Atari 5200 console. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Altirra
A cycle-exact emulator for Atari 8-bit computers and the Atari 5200 console.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Altirra.
Atari800
A portable, free emulator for Atari 8-bit computers and the Atari 5200 console.
Atari800 covers the same Atari 8-bit computers and 5200 console, adds macOS, Linux and Android builds, but has a plainer interface and does not claim cycle-exact emulation.
MAME
Documents and recreates thousands of arcade machines, consoles and old computers, with accuracy as the point.
MAME recreates thousands of arcade machines, consoles and old computers in one GPL-licensed program, trading Altirra's single-family focus for breadth and a strict ROM set requirement.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Stella
The reference Atari 2600 emulator, developed since the 1990s.
Javatari
An Atari 2600 emulator that runs in the web browser, with netplay and save states.
Hatari
An Atari ST, STE, TT and Falcon emulator that closely reproduces the original hardware.
BigPEmu
An Atari Jaguar emulator that runs the entire retail game library at full speed.
VICE
A long-running emulator for Commodore 8-bit computers, including the C64, C128, VIC-20, PET and Plus/4.
Clock Signal
A latency-focused emulator covering dozens of 8- and 16-bit home computers and game consoles.
