Comparison

RA Tracker vs ArcEmu

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

RA Tracker

This native iOS app allows users to view and track their RetroAchievements.org account. It provides detailed insights into game completion, earned awards, and recent achievements, enhancing the overall gaming experience.

Highlights
  • Track completion progress
  • View game awards
  • See recently earned achievements
  • Discover users with specific achievements
  • Get Achievement of the Week notifications
  • View user leaderboards
  • Manage game backlog
Features
Read full description

RA Tracker for RetroAchievements.org is a native application for users to view and track their RetroAchievements account. RA Tracker has many capabilities, all designed around maximizing the RetroAchievements experience and feeling right at home on your iOS Device. - View your completion progress for all games you are earning achievements for - View awards for mastering a game - View all of your recently earned achievements - See users that have earned specific achievements - View the Achievement of the Week and get a notification when a new one is posted! - View the top ten user leaderboard - Add games to the Backlog to keep track of what you want to play - Search for games by console to see what games currently have Achievements to earn - Create a list of games to track completion progress - Follow other RetroAchievements.org users and track their progress and recently earned achievements - Read RANews As the RetroAchievements.org public API evolves, so will RA Tracker. Stay tuned for updates on what is to come next by following iOSLife on Mastodon.

About

ArcEmu

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
Read full description

Turn your Apple Watch into a retro game console. Play Game Boy, NES, SNES, Genesis, and more on your wrist, with multi-touch controls and the Digital Crown. ArcEmu also runs on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. ▸ SUPPORTED CONSOLES Included for free: - Game Boy - Game Boy Color - Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Available through in-app purchases: - Game Boy Advance - Pokémon Mini - Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) - Atari 2600 - Sega Mega Drive / Genesis - Sega Master System - Sega Game Gear - Sega SG-1000 ▸ MULTIPLAYER AND LINK CABLE Play home-console games online and locally with friends, or link Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games over the internet. Game Link Cable supports up to four players in compatible games. Online play requires a Game Center account. ▸ SHARE ROMs WITH A CODE Import your ROMs on iPhone, keep them in iCloud, and download them directly to Apple Watch or Apple TV. Share them through iCloud using a code, including with an Apple Watch configured with Family Setup. ▸ SCREEN AND CONTROLS Move and resize the game screen, choose an LCD or CRT filter, and set up the controls the way you like them. On Apple Watch, use multi-touch controls, customize the control layout, and assign actions to the Digital Crown. On iPhone and iPad, adjust button positions and transparency, and play in any orientation. Connect a controller and customize its button mappings, or use a second controller on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. ArcEmu also supports iPhone Duo. ▸ MORE FEATURES - Accurate, high-performance emulation - Fast-forward at 2×, 4×, or maximum speed - Slow motion at 0.5× speed - Cheat codes with a built-in database of popular codes - Touch-based light gun controls for NES and SNES - Custom Game Boy color palettes - Button hold/sustain - Accelerometer support - Gyroscope support on iPhone and iPad, with Digital Crown input on Apple Watch - Haptic feedback on iPhone ▸ YOUR ROMs AND SAVES Keep your collection organized with per-console folders, sorting, and search. Import ROMs from ZIP and 7-Zip archives, use automatic saving, and share save states between devices. Both ROMs and save states can be stored in iCloud. ▸ APPLE WATCH COMPATIBILITY - Apple Watch Series 4 or later - Apple Watch SE or later - Apple Watch Ultra or later ArcEmu does not include any games or ROMs. ▸ GAMES FEATURED IN THE SCREENSHOTS - Acorn Grove: https://gibbongl.itch.io/acorn-grove - Big2Small: https://mdsteele.itch.io/big2small - Hauntsfield: https://alliemackie.itch.io/hauntsfield - µCity Advance: https://skylyrac.itch.io/ucity-advance Cheat codes may cause unexpected behavior or affect game stability and save data. ArcEmu is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo, Sega, or Atari. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Screenshots

RA Tracker4 screens
ArcEmu4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ArcEmu at 4.9 against RA Tracker's 4.5. ArcEmu also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and ratings volume (1.3K vs 53). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. RA Tracker sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and ArcEmu sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ArcEmu holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ArcEmu has 1.3K ratings behind it against 53, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of RA Tracker's written reviews are positive against 95% of ArcEmu's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
RA Tracker versus ArcEmu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRA TrackerArcEmu
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (53 ratings)4.9 (1.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.4% of reviews94.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings531.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB234 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperiOSLifeRaffaele D'Amato

Customer experience

RA Tracker

All ratings42 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral11.9%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews48 reviews
Positive85.4%
Neutral10.4%
Negative4.2%

ArcEmu

All ratings1,333 ratings
Positive98.3%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews533 reviews
Positive94.6%
Neutral2.8%
Negative2.6%

User reviews

RA Tracker

From 53 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Best RA app found
  • 👍 Nice UI and design
  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 👍 Great for tracking progress
  • 👍 Good for finding new games

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Missing achievement status flags
  • 🐛 Inconsistent 'recently played' games
  • 🐛 Ugly AI generated icons
  • 🐛 Profile pictures don't update
  • 🐛 Sorting options don't work

ArcEmu

From 1.3K App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

Bugs and requests

RA Tracker

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • Achievement status flags removed from list
  • Profile pictures not updating
  • Sorting options for achievements not working
  • App hangs upon opening occasionally
  • Games show as 'Mock Title'/'Mock Console'
Show 9 more
  • Followed users list not showing
  • Want to play list not showing
  • App crashes upon opening on iPhone 12 (iOS 18.2 Beta)
  • App crashes on launch with iOS 18
  • No screenshot found at top of profile
  • Comments button shows 'page not found'
  • Wii icon not visible/in consoles section
  • Shows games on profile not played, doesn't show played games
  • Notifications for unlocking achievements not working/featured

Requested features

14 requests
  • Show missable/progression/win condition flags on list
  • Show time played per game
  • Show beaten/mastered status next to games
  • Add iPad support
  • Search for other games and add to watch/want to play lists
Show 9 more
  • Native iPad app
  • Landscape mode and controller support
  • Universal game search
  • View comments under games and achievements
  • More widget options (profile, mastery badges, leaderboards, activity)
  • Ability to get AotM (Achievement of the Month)
  • Apple Watch version
  • Notifications for new achievements
  • Option to hide unlocked achievements

ArcEmu

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional crashes
  • Graphical glitches with certain ROMs
  • Save data not transferring properly between devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add cheat/GameShark support
  • Improve volume controls
  • Implement fast forward/slow motion options
  • Allow multiple save slots per game
  • Improve Game Boy Color support
Show 1 more
  • Add joystick/button support for Apple Watch

In-app purchases

4 purchases

RA Tracker

One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Nice Tip$2.99
  • Generous Tip$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Out of this World Tip$9.99
10 purchases

ArcEmu

One-time10
  • Unlock All (Upgrade 4)$0.99
  • Game Boy Advance$0.99
  • SNES$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Pokémon Mini$0.99
  • Atari 2600$0.99
  • Mega Drive / Genesis$0.99
  • Game Gear$0.99
  • Master System$0.99
  • SG-1000$0.99
  • Unlock All (Upgrade 3)$1.99

Questions

Is RA Tracker free?
RA Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ArcEmu free?
ArcEmu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, RA Tracker or ArcEmu?
ArcEmu is rated higher. RA Tracker averages 4.5 out of 5 from 53 ratings, while ArcEmu averages 4.9 from 1.3K ratings.
Do RA Tracker or ArcEmu have ads?
Neither RA Tracker nor ArcEmu shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RA Tracker or ArcEmu?
RA Tracker ships an update every 2 weeks, and ArcEmu every 2 weeks. Most recently, RA Tracker was updated on November 3, 2026 and ArcEmu on November 4, 2026.

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