# Nova Emulator vs SpatialEMU

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SpatialEMU at none against Nova Emulator's 3. SpatialEMU also leads on ads (none vs shown) and device support (6 vs 3). Nova Emulator's advantage is iOS requirement (16 vs 18.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Nova Emulator sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. SpatialEMU asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Nova Emulator against 5.0 for SpatialEMU. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

Nova Emulator ships an update every 3 weeks, SpatialEMU every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Nova Emulator | SpatialEMU |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nova-emulator/id6760300280/reviews) | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spatialemu/id6771768889/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 11 days** |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Size | 67 MB | 217 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Vision Pro** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [IDEATAG STUDIO](https://appshunter.io/developer/1883714100) | [晓东 傅](https://appshunter.io/developer/328047099) |

## What reviewers say

### Nova Emulator

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nova-emulator/id6760300280)

Play classic console games on your smartphone with this high-performance emulator. Enjoy smooth gameplay, save states, fast forward, and display filters. Supports a wide range of retro consoles and offers cheat code functionality.

**Highlights:** High-performance emulation (60fps), Virtual gamepad with radial dial, Save and load game states, Fast forward gameplay (2x-4x), Display filters (CRT, LCD), Cheat code support, Play time statistics

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| NOVA Premium | $1.99 | per month |
| NOVA Premium | $4.99 | per 3 months |
| NOVA Premium | $7.99 | per 6 months |


### SpatialEMU

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spatialemu/id6771768889)

This app allows you to play your personal retro game collection on iPhone and iPad. It supports a wide range of classic systems and offers flexible control options, including virtual buttons and physical controllers. You can load games locally or connect to a self-hosted server for library management.

**Highlights:** Play retro games on iOS devices, Supports NES, SNES, PlayStation, PSP, and more, Load local game files or use a self-hosted server, Virtual and physical controller support, Customizable controller mapping, Local save states and progress syncing

**Features:** Game Controller support, Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Nova Emulator free?

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

### Is SpatialEMU free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Nova Emulator or SpatialEMU?

Nova Emulator and SpatialEMU are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.

### Do Nova Emulator or SpatialEMU have ads?

Nova Emulator shows ads; SpatialEMU does not.

### Which is updated more often, Nova Emulator or SpatialEMU?

Nova Emulator ships an update every 3 weeks, and SpatialEMU every 11 days. Most recently, Nova Emulator was updated on October 1, 2026 and SpatialEMU on September 21, 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.*