# ArcEmu vs Patuá

The clearest difference is price: Patuá at Free against ArcEmu's $1.99. Patuá also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). ArcEmu's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and device support (5 vs 3). On ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

ArcEmu ships an update every 2 weeks, Patuá every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ArcEmu | Patuá |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $1.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.9 (1.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arcemu/id6496282733/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1.3K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 94.5% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 172 MB | 2 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | **15.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Raffaele D'Amato](https://appshunter.io/developer/529947655) | [Sean moran](https://appshunter.io/developer/1882600251) |

## What reviewers say

### 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, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**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


### Patuá

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/patua/id6760090845)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pequeno Reinforcements | $2.99 | one-time |
| Grande Reinforcements | $2.99 | one-time |
| Angola Reinforcements | $2.99 | one-time |
| Roda Completa Bundle | $7.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ArcEmu free?

ArcEmu costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Patuá free?

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

### Do ArcEmu or Patuá have ads?

Neither ArcEmu nor Patuá shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ArcEmu or Patuá?

ArcEmu ships an update every 2 weeks, and Patuá every 5 days. Most recently, ArcEmu was updated on October 24, 2026 and Patuá on October 9, 2026.

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