Comparison

Plume! vs GBDev

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Plume!

This app allows you to play classic Dreamcast games on your iPhone. It offers a polished library, customizable graphics, and flexible control options for both handheld and TV play. Easily import your game titles and enhance their visuals for a modern gaming experience.

Highlights
  • Dreamcast emulation on iPhone
  • Customizable on-screen controls
  • Bluetooth gamepad support
  • Console mode for TV play
  • Advanced graphics tuning
  • Save states and VMU support
  • RetroAchievements integration
Features
Read full description

Plume is a Dreamcast emulator built for iPhone. A polished library, many graphics options, and controls for both handheld and couch coop! Add titles through the Files app, AirDrop, or Share → Plume. Supported formats include GDI, CDI, CHD, CUE, BIN, ZIP, and ELF. A small homebrew demo ships with the app so you can try the core on first launch. Retail BIOS files are optional — turn on Fast Boot to skip the splash, or add dc_boot.bin and dc_flash.bin from hardware you own for the full boot sequence. LIBRARY Your collection lives in one place with cover art, metadata, favorites, and played time. After you run a title, Plume grades how it performs on your phone — Excellent, Good, Playable, and more — so you know what to expect before you boot. CONTROLS Use fully customizable on-screen controls, or pair a Bluetooth gamepad in iOS Settings and remap every button in Plume. Dreamcast has four controller ports. Touch controls fill port 1 when nothing else is connected. Rumble, haptics, and light-gun support are built in. CONSOLE MODE Mirror your phone to a TV over AirPlay or HDMI. In Console mode the game renders on the big screen while your iPhone stays the controller — perfect for couch sessions. GRAPHICS & PERFORMANCE Tune internal resolution, aspect ratio, CRT shaders, texture filtering, and upscaling. MetalFX spatial and temporal upscale is available on supported Apple silicon. HD texture packs, neural upscale models, and an Upscale Studio help older titles look sharper. A live HUD shows FPS, frame time, CPU, RAM, and more. SAVE STATES & VMU Save and load states from the in-game menu. Slots appear on library covers for quick resume. Per-game VMU files keep memory cards where they belong. RETROACHIEVEMENTS Sign in to RetroAchievements and earn badges while you play. Hardcore mode disables save states for a classic challenge. CAPTURE & SHARE Take screenshots and record gameplay in-game. Saves go to Documents or Photos. Attach captures to save-state slots if you want a visual bookmark. SOUND & STYLE Menu music with downloadable tracks or your own imports. Deep theme controls for colors, fonts, corners, and accessibility — including Bold Text and Button Shapes when iOS has them on. REQUIREMENTS Plume is iPhone only. Requires iOS 18 and iPhone 13 or newer. Dreamcast emulation is demanding — your device may warm up during play, and heavy 3D titles may not hit full speed on every phone. Plume uses a cached SH4 interpreter (no JIT), so performance depends on your CPU. SUPPORT & SOURCE Questions, bug reports, and betas: join our Discord from Settings → About. Source code is GPL-3.0-or-later at github.com/MuffinFluffin/plume-archive. LEGAL Plume does not include commercial games or a retail BIOS. You are responsible for content you import. Only use game files and firmware you legally own.

About

GBDev

Play your favorite Game Boy and Game Boy Color games on your iPhone with this emulator. It features a beautiful game library, responsive on-screen controls, and customizable palettes and themes for a comfortable gaming experience.

Highlights
  • Game Boy & Game Boy Color ROM support
  • Personalized game library with box art
  • Save states for instant progress capture
  • Customizable on-screen controls
  • Adjustable game palettes and app themes
  • Integrated cheat engine
Features
Read full description

GBDev is a fast multi emulator with an immersive feel and lots of good ways to customize your emulation experience. Emulates: GB • GBC • GBA • NES • SNES • DS • DSI • 3DS • GC • Wii Get cozy under the covers with our screen bleed and crt scanlines options. Reposition the screens and buttons to maximize the emulation feel. Enhance the look with animated themes and custom buttons. Landscape mode goes hard too especially when a bluetooth controller is connected. SNES Mouse works for mar10 pain7 too!! GBDev even has 3ds mii support. Connect to a tv with airplay, connect some controllers via bluetooth, and set the phone on charge for a night of retro gatherings. Button haptics make you feel more immersed so we have that too. Our game library is seperated by console. Thank you for using GBDev!!

Screenshots

Plume!2 screens
GBDev4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Plume! at 100% against GBDev's 13%. Plume! also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.3). GBDev's advantage is price (Free vs $0.99) and ratings volume (18 vs 4). On ads, in-app purchases, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

GBDev is free to download; Plume! costs $0.99 up front. Plume! sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and GBDev sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Plume! holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 18 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Plume!'s written reviews are positive against 13% of GBDev's.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Plume! versus GBDev: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlume!GBDev
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better3.3 (18 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better12.5% of reviews
Number of ratings418 — better
Update frequency—Every 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB100 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDylan MathurinWinter Bagley

Customer experience

Plume!

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

GBDev

All ratings18 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral11.1%
Negative38.9%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive12.5%
Neutral25.0%
Negative62.5%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Plume!

One-time1
  • Tip $1$0.99
1 purchases

GBDev

One-time1
  • GBDev Pro$2.99

Questions

Is Plume! free?
Plume! costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is GBDev free?
GBDev is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Plume! or GBDev?
Plume! is rated higher. Plume! averages 5.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while GBDev averages 3.3 from 18 ratings.
Do Plume! or GBDev have ads?
Neither Plume! nor GBDev shows ads.

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