EmulatorJS vs Phaser
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted game engines & frameworks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
EmulatorJS
Self-hosted in-browser retro game emulator
VS
Phaser
Fast HTML5 game framework for browser games you host yourself
| Feature | EmulatorJS | Phaser |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Game Engines & Frameworks | Game Engines & Frameworks |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,074 | ★ 40,098 |
| First released | 2020 | 2013 |
| Replaces | RetroArch web | Construct, GameMaker |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is EmulatorJS or Phaser better?
Neither is universally better. Phaser has the larger community, while EmulatorJS is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are EmulatorJS and Phaser free and open-source?
Yes. EmulatorJS is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Phaser under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run EmulatorJS and Phaser with Docker?
EmulatorJS: yes. Phaser: check the project docs for container support.