Retro Pal vs SoDi
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Retro Pal
Relive your favorite classic games on your mobile device. This app emulates a wide range of consoles, allowing you to play your ROMs with customizable controls and features. Enjoy your childhood favorites anywhere, anytime.
- Emulates 13+ classic consoles
- Supports Bluetooth and USB-C controllers
- Cloud save synchronization
- Customizable touch controls
- Rewind functionality
- Console skins and themes
- Gameplay clip recording
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The console of your childhood, now in your pocket. Retro Pal plays your Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Super Nintendo, NES, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Mega Drive / Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, PSP and Nintendo 3DS ROMs on your iPhone and iPad. Your old games, on the screen you always have with you. No ads. Free to use. Pro is optional: pay once for life, or month by month if you prefer. WHAT'S INCLUDED (FOR FREE) • Native emulation via mGBA, melonDS, MesenCE, PCSX-ReARMed, Mupen64Plus-Next, BlastEm, PPSSPP and Azahar • Bluetooth and USB-C controllers (Xbox, PlayStation, MFi): up to four players, and the app's menus work with one too • Local-first iCloud save sync across your devices • Save import from other emulator apps • PlayStation discs as .chd, as a .cue with its .bin, or as a zip, with the discs of one game grouped into a single entry • PSP games as .iso, .cso, .chd or .pbp • Nintendo 3DS games as .3ds, .cci, .cxi or .3dsx (decrypted games only) • Stereo sound, mixable with background music (Spotify, Apple Music, podcasts) • Touch controls: D-pad and action buttons • Console skins: pick a built-in look, or import and share custom ones • Portrait and landscape modes • Two save slots + auto-save with image preview • Rewind up to 5 seconds, on all thirteen consoles • Capture and share gameplay clips as a video card • Screenshot sharing with a styled card • Your Retro story: your play time, your games and your badges, and your year in review every December LOCALIZED, NOT TRANSLATED Retro Pal is available in fifteen languages, from French and German through to Japanese, Korean and Traditional Chinese. Each is written, not run through a translator at the last minute. RETRO PAL PRO (OPTIONAL) One-time purchase, yours forever. Or a yearly or monthly subscription if you prefer to spread the cost. You will see the price on the app's page. • All speeds (0.25× to 4×) • Five save slots • 30-second rewind • Cheat codes (Action Replay, Game Genie, GameShark and more) • Full controls editor: move, resize, fade or hide every button and the screens, with unlimited presets per console • Create and edit your own custom console skins A subscription can be cancelled at any time from the App Store. You can switch from a subscription to the lifetime purchase whenever you want. Terms of Use: https://retropal.fr/en/terms Privacy Policy: https://retropal.fr/en/privacy MADE IN EUROPE. No ads, no ad profiling. To improve the app, Retro Pal sends only anonymous usage statistics, no personal data, no advertising IDs. Your ROMs, your saves and your progress stay on your device. The app contains no games. You must provide your own ROM files, which you certify you legally own. Need to reach us? We reply within a day: support@retropal.fr Website: retropal.fr Retro Pal integrates the open-source emulator cores mGBA (MPL-2.0 license), melonDS (GPL-3.0), MesenCE (GPL-3.0), PCSX-ReARMed (GPL-2.0 or later), Mupen64Plus-Next (GPL-2.0 or later), BlastEm (GPL-3.0 or later), PPSSPP (GPL-2.0 or later) and Azahar (GPL-3.0 or later). melonDS, MesenCE, Mupen64Plus-Next, BlastEm, PPSSPP and Azahar are used with changes of ours, each published as a patch file alongside the source. The app's complete source code is published under GPL-3.0: github.com/Larvouu/RetroPal. Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 64 and Nintendo 3DS are trademarks of Nintendo Co., Ltd. This application is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Nintendo. PlayStation and PSP are trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. This application is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Mega Drive, Genesis, Master System and Game Gear are trademarks of SEGA Corporation. This application is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by SEGA.
SoDi
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Du weißt, dass du raus willst. Du weißt nur nicht, wohin. SoDi fragt nicht nach Kategorien und Filtern, sondern nach deiner Stimmung – und findet daraus echte Events in deiner Stadt. SO FUNKTIONIERT'S Beantworte ein paar kurze Fragen dazu, wie du dich fühlst und wie der Tag enden soll. Stelle Stadt, Datum und deinen Preisrahmen ein. SoDi durchsucht daraufhin laufende Veranstaltungen und legt dir mehrere sehr unterschiedliche Vorschläge als Kartenstapel vor. Wisch nach rechts, was dich anspricht, nach links, was nicht passt. Am Ende zeigt dir SoDi das Event, das am besten zu dir passt – mit Match-Score, Beschreibung, Preis und Link zum Veranstalter. ALLEIN ODER MIT FREUNDEN Im Solo-Modus geht es nur um dich. Im Freunde-Modus plant ihr gemeinsam über einen Einladungscode: SoDi berücksichtigt beide Stimmungen und schlägt etwas vor, das für alle funktioniert. WAS SODI BESONDERS MACHT • Stimmung statt Suchmaske: kein endloses Filtern, sondern ein kurzes Gespräch über deinen Abend • Kartenstapel zum Durchwischen: echte Auswahl, ohne Entscheidungsmüdigkeit • Match-Score: jedes Event wird danach bewertet, wie gut es zu deiner Stimmung passt • Budget im Griff: Preisrahmen einstellen, bevor die Suche startet • Von Konzert bis Kochkurs: Live-Musik, Bühne, Ausstellungen, Workshops, Outdoor, Märkte, Essen und Trinken • Deine Historie: alle Suchen im Verlauf, filterbar nach Museen, Kino und Events • Einsichten: Auswertungen dazu, welche Stimmungen und Atmosphären dich wohin geführt haben • Kalender-Export: übernimm dein Event mit einem Tipp in den Kalender • Wartezeit mit Spiel: während gesucht wird, kannst du eine Runde Snake spielen – mit Sternen, Schilden und Fallen, plus Bestenliste • Vollständiger Dunkelmodus Gut abgedeckt sind Berlin, München, Hamburg, Köln, Frankfurt, Wien, Zürich, Innsbruck und Basel. Andere Städte kannst du eingeben, dort ist die Datenlage aber dünner. FÜR WEN SODI GEDACHT IST Für alle, die abends mehr wollen als Streaming, aber keine Lust haben, sich durch zehn Event-Portale zu klicken. Für Wochenenden, an denen nichts geplant ist. Und für den Moment, in dem jemand fragt: „Und, was machen wir?" SoDi ist kostenlos.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SoDi at none against Retro Pal's 3. SoDi also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 10 days). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Retro Pal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. SoDi asks for nothing beyond the download.
Retro Pal ships an update every 10 days, SoDi every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Retro Pal | SoDi |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (21 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 57.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 21 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 111 MB | 190 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Antoine Ghiassi | Bastian Schertel |
In-app purchases
Retro Pal
- Retro Pal Pro Monthly$0.991 Month
- Retro Pal Pro, yearly$4.991 Year
- Retro Pal Pro Lifetime$8.99
SoDi
No in-app purchases









