# Folium vs Game Emulator

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Game Emulator at 77% against Folium's 24%. Game Emulator also leads on price (Free vs $2.99) and rating (4.7 vs 2.4). Folium's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#10 vs unranked). On ratings volume, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Game Emulator is free to download; Folium costs $2.99 up front. Folium sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Game Emulator sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Game Emulator holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 847 and 1.1K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 24% of Folium's written reviews are positive against 77% of Game Emulator's.

Folium ships an update fortnightly, Game Emulator monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Folium | Game Emulator |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [2.4 (847 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/folium/id6498623389/reviews) | **[4.7 (1.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/game-emulator-replay/id6502828239/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 847 | **1.1K** |
| Positive reviews | 24.3% of reviews | **76.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Monthly |
| Monetization | **Free** | Subscription |
| Best chart rank | **#10** | — |
| Size | 64 MB | 95 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Jarrod Norwell](https://appshunter.io/developer/1449237747) | [彩连 刘](https://appshunter.io/developer/1721372242) |

## What reviewers say

### Folium

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/folium/id6498623389)

**Currently charting:** #10 Top Paid · Entertainment, #118 Top Paid (US App Store)

Experience classic gaming on your device with this high-performance emulator. Play titles from a wide range of retro consoles and handhelds. Supports various external controllers for an enhanced experience.

**Highlights:** Multi-system emulation, Play retro console games, Play handheld games, Supports numerous controllers, High performance design

**Features:** Game Controller support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Extra Features | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Runs well on newer devices
- 👍 Potential for 3DS emulation on iOS
- 💡 Allows playing 3DS games on the go

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔋 Overheats and drains battery quickly
- 👎 Laggy and poor performance on some games
- 🤔 Lacking in customization and settings options

**Reported bugs**

- Games freezing or crashing during cutscenes
- Keyboard input issues causing games to freeze
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between apps
- Compatibility problems with certain 3DS games

**Requested features**

- Add save state and load state functionality
- Improve controller support and customization
- Optimize performance and reduce stuttering
- Provide more detailed settings and configuration options
- Implement iPad support and optimization


### Game Emulator

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/game-emulator-replay/id6502828239)

Relive the golden age of gaming with this emulator that supports multiple classic game formats. Enjoy perfect emulation, speed-up functions, cheat support, and save states to enhance your gameplay. Discover a vast library of classic titles and play without limits.

**Highlights:** Supports NDS, GBA, GBC, and GB formats, Perfect emulation of gameplay and visuals, Speed-up function for faster progression, Cheat code support, Intuitive game list interface, Save game progress anytime

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

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly Membership | $1.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Member | $1.99 | per 7 days |
| Monthly Member | $3.99 | per month |
| Weekly Membership | $5.99 | per 7 days |
| Yearly Membership | $17.99 | per year |
| Yearly Membership | $24.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Fully playable games
- 🚀 Easy to use and install
- 💡 Provides access to retro games
- 👍 Wide selection of games

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Compatibility issues with some games
- 🔋 Ads can be intrusive
- 🔒 Potential legal concerns with downloading ROMs

**Reported bugs**

- Certain games fail to load or crash
- Screen freezes or black screens on some games

**Requested features**

- Add support for Bluetooth controllers
- Improve in-game save functionality
- Implement cheat code support


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Folium free?

Folium costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Game Emulator free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Folium or Game Emulator?

Game Emulator is rated higher. Folium averages 2.4 out of 5 from 847 ratings, while Game Emulator averages 4.7 from 1.1K ratings.

### Do Folium or Game Emulator have ads?

Game Emulator shows ads; Folium does not.

### Which is updated more often, Folium or Game Emulator?

Folium ships an update fortnightly, and Game Emulator monthly. Most recently, Folium was updated on November 9, 2026 and Game Emulator on November 8, 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.*