# Emulator for Pico vs BMESC

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: BMESC at none against Emulator for Pico's 1. BMESC also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.1). Emulator for Pico's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 weeks) and device support (4 vs 2). On price and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Emulator for Pico sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. BMESC asks for nothing beyond the download.

Emulator for Pico ships an update every 10 days, BMESC every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Emulator for Pico | BMESC |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (56 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/emulator-for-pico-8-picpic/id6759208792/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **56** | — |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 23 MB | 83 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.1 | **12.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Valentin Dreyfus](https://appshunter.io/developer/1710589551) | [Beijing Floating Wheel Technology Co., Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/6782801009) |

## What reviewers say

### Emulator for Pico

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/emulator-for-pico-8-picpic/id6759208792)

Experience the charm of Pico-8 games on your iOS device. This emulator allows you to play thousands of community-made cartridges natively, offering touch controls, save states, and multiplayer support.

**Highlights:** Native Pico-8 emulation, Import cartridges from Files/Safari, On-screen touch controls, Local multiplayer support, Save states with autosave option, Game library organization, Controller and keyboard support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Game Controller support, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| One Time Donation | $7.99 | one-time |


### BMESC

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bmesc/id6782801007)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Emulator for Pico free?

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

### Is BMESC free?

BMESC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Emulator for Pico or BMESC have ads?

Neither Emulator for Pico nor BMESC shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Emulator for Pico or BMESC?

Emulator for Pico ships an update every 10 days, and BMESC every 3 weeks. Most recently, Emulator for Pico was updated on November 11, 2026 and BMESC on October 31, 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.*