# Piano Dash vs ArcEmu

The clearest difference is price: ArcEmu at Free against Piano Dash's $0.99. ArcEmu also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.2) and ratings volume (1.3K vs 9). Piano Dash's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). On review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

ArcEmu is free to download; Piano Dash costs $0.99 up front. ArcEmu sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Piano Dash asks for nothing beyond the download.

ArcEmu holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ArcEmu has 1.3K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Piano Dash's written reviews are positive against 95% of ArcEmu's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Piano Dash ships an update every 5 days, ArcEmu every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 27, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Piano Dash | ArcEmu |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.2 (9 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/piano-dash/id1632441647/reviews) | **[4.9 (1.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arcemu/id6496282733/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 9 | **1.3K** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 94.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#78** | — |
| Size | 103 MB | 234 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Joseph Malam](https://appshunter.io/developer/628233851) | [Raffaele D'Amato](https://appshunter.io/developer/529947655) |

## What reviewers say

### Piano Dash

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/piano-dash/id1632441647)

**Currently charting:** #78 Top Paid · Music (US App Store)

A musical game where you identify and jump over musical notes to improve your sight-reading skills. Choose from six famous pianists and navigate through challenging levels.

**Highlights:** Learn piano notation, Improve sight-reading, Identify musical notes, Play as 6 pianists, Jump over notes

**In-app purchases:** none


### ArcEmu

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arcemu/id6496282733)

Experience retro gaming on your Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad. This emulator supports Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges. Enjoy features like multiplayer, cheats, and customizable controls.

**Highlights:** Game Boy, GBC, GBA emulation, Multiplayer support, Cheat codes, Customizable on-screen controls, Save State sharing, iCloud support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Game Controller support, Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock All (Upgrade 4) | $0.99 | one-time |
| Game Boy Advance | $0.99 | one-time |
| SNES | $0.99 | one-time |
| Pokémon Mini | $0.99 | one-time |
| Atari 2600 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Mega Drive / Genesis | $0.99 | one-time |
| Game Gear | $0.99 | one-time |
| Master System | $0.99 | one-time |
| SG-1000 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Unlock All (Upgrade 3) | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fully functional
- 🚀 Impressive emulation on Apple Watch
- 👍 Great emulator for both phone and watch
- 👍 Seamless save state transfer between devices
- 👍 Customizable controls and layout

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Compatibility issues with some games
- 🐛 Audio quality problems on certain games
- 👎 Limited functionality on Apple Watch
- 👎 Difficult controls for action-heavy games on watch

**Reported bugs**

- Occasional crashes
- Graphical glitches with certain ROMs
- Save data not transferring properly between devices

**Requested features**

- Add cheat/GameShark support
- Improve volume controls
- Implement fast forward/slow motion options
- Allow multiple save slots per game
- Improve Game Boy Color support


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Piano Dash free?

Piano Dash costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is ArcEmu free?

ArcEmu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Piano Dash or ArcEmu?

ArcEmu is rated higher. Piano Dash averages 4.2 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while ArcEmu averages 4.9 from 1.3K ratings.

### Do Piano Dash or ArcEmu have ads?

Neither Piano Dash nor ArcEmu shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Piano Dash or ArcEmu?

Piano Dash ships an update every 5 days, and ArcEmu every 2 weeks. Most recently, Piano Dash was updated on October 27, 2026 and ArcEmu on October 27, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*