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

ArcEmu brings retro game emulation to Apple Watch. It also works on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, delivering a seamless gaming experience across your Apple devices. Supported Consoles - Game Boy (.gb) - Game Boy Color (.gbc) - Game Boy Advance (.gba) - Pokémon Mini (.min) - Nintendo Entertainment System (.nes) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System (.sfc and .smc) - Atari 2600 (.a26 and .bin) Main Features - Accurate, high-performance emulation powered by the mGBA and Ares cores - Game Link Cable support with online multiplayer for up to four players* - Cheat-code support with a built-in database of popular codes** - Frame-independent emulation at 30 or 60 FPS - Multi-touch and Digital Crown support on Apple Watch - Support for all screen orientations on iPhone and iPad - Precise, thoughtfully designed on-screen controls - Customizable control position and transparency on iPhone and iPad - Fast-forward at 2×, 4×, or maximum speed - Slow motion at 0.5× speed - Touch-based light gun controls for NES and SNES - Custom color palettes for Game Boy games - Button hold/sustain feature - Accelerometer support - Gyroscope support on iPhone and iPad, with Digital Crown input on Apple Watch - Haptic feedback on iPhone - Game controller support with customizable button mappings - ZIP archive support - Automatic saving - Save-state sharing between devices - iCloud support for ROMs and save states - ROM sharing through iCloud using share codes - Support for Apple Watch devices configured with Family Setup - ROM sorting and search 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. You can import compatible ROM files from your iPhone and store them in iCloud. Your Apple Watch can then download them directly from iCloud. On an Apple Watch configured with Family Setup, ROMs can be downloaded from iCloud using share codes. Games Featured in the Screenshots - Acorn Grove: https://gibbongl.itch.io/acorn-grove - Anguna: https://gauauu.itch.io/anguna - Hauntsfield: https://alliemackie.itch.io/hauntsfield - µCity Advance: https://skylyrac.itch.io/ucity-advance * Requires a Game Center account. ** Cheat codes may cause unexpected behavior or affect game stability and save data. ArcEmu is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo. Nintendo and the names of its game systems are trademarks of Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Screenshots

RA Tracker4 screens
ArcEmu4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: RA Tracker at Free against ArcEmu's $1.99. ArcEmu's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). On update cadence and ads 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

RA Tracker is free to download; ArcEmu costs $1.99 up front. RA Tracker sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. ArcEmu asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ArcEmu holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ArcEmu has 1.3K ratings behind it against 50, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of RA Tracker's written reviews are positive against 95% of ArcEmu's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RA Tracker ships an update every 2 weeks, ArcEmu fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on July 29, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
RA Tracker versus ArcEmu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRA TrackerArcEmu
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.6 (50 ratings)4.9 (1.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.9% of reviews94.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings501.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.015.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB172 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperiOSLife CorporationRaffaele D'Amato

Customer experience

RA Tracker

All ratings42 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral11.9%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews41 reviews
Positive82.9%
Neutral12.2%
Negative4.9%

ArcEmu

All ratings1,295 ratings
Positive98.2%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews521 reviews
Positive94.6%
Neutral2.7%
Negative2.7%

Bugs and requests

RA Tracker

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
None

ArcEmu

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RA Tracker free?
RA Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ArcEmu free?
ArcEmu costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, RA Tracker or ArcEmu?
ArcEmu is rated higher. RA Tracker averages 4.6 out of 5 from 50 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 fortnightly. Most recently, RA Tracker was updated on July 29, 2026 and ArcEmu on September 24, 2026.

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