One of the best SNES emulators for PC and Mac
Joe Hindy / Android Authority
The Tremendous Nintendo Leisure System, or SNES, is among the hottest consoles in historical past. Many individuals need to proceed taking part in video games for it for quite a lot of causes. Nostalgia, speedrunning, and taking part in outdated classics they had been too younger to take pleasure in prime the explanations. Fortunately, there’s a swath of SNES emulators on the market for each PC and Mac. Listed here are the very best ones we may discover. You will discover some nice SNES emulators for Android telephones as properly.
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On the whole, we suggest Snes9x for PC and OpenEmu for macOS. These on the lookout for greater accuracy can attempt Higan on PC, however provided that your PC has a high-end CPU. RetroArch has a number of SNES cores to attempt, which makes it nice on each Mac and PC.
One of the best SNES emulators for PC and Mac
BSNES

Joe Hindy / Android Authority
A stable, fairly easy SNES emulator that focuses extra on accuracy than pure efficiency.
- Pricing: Free
- Platforms: PC, macOS, Linux (Downloads)
What we like:
- It labored effective with all of our check video games.
- It’s fairly correct and fast, with good efficiency total.
- BSNES comes with a bunch of extras, like shaders, filters, and extra to enhance how video games look.
- It’s free and open supply.
What we don’t like:
- Whereas Apple M1 help is out there, we don’t assume it’s the most suitable choice for Mac customers.
- Snes9x is a little more accessible, whereas Higan is a little more correct, placing BSNES sort of in the midst of the pack.
As soon as upon a time, there have been two BSNES emulators. The primary one went to turn out to be Higan, additionally on this record, and the opposite one is that this one. BSNES is a fairly good emulator that sits in a very good center floor between good accuracy and good efficiency. It has some non-obligatory stuff, like shaders and filters, however you get one thing like this for correct emulation over flashy options. In any case, it loaded and performed all of our check video games with out drama, so it’s a straightforward advice for us.
Higan

Joe Hindy / Android Authority
A multi-console emulator with SNES help that places an enormous emphasis on accuracy.
- Pricing: Free
- Platforms: PC, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD (Downloads)
What we like:
- Essentially the most correct SNES emulator on the record.
- It will probably emulate a number of consoles, together with Famicom, Tremendous Famicom, a number of Recreation Boy consoles, a number of Sega consoles, and others.
- Higan performed our check video games with out challenge, though Crono Set off took a minute to determine.
What we don’t like:
- The training curve is kind of steep with this one.
Higan is a multi-console emulator that has SNES help. Its declare to fame is its accuracy. The emulator is constructed with accuracy in thoughts and focuses closely on emulating the {hardware} in addition to the sport. It performed our check video games fairly properly, though we did need to obtain a special Crono Set off ROM as a way to play. This isn’t one which we suggest for informal play. Speedrunners and people who are sticklers for accuracy ought to undoubtedly do that one out. For most people who simply need to play outdated video games for enjoyable can discover easier choices on this record.
OpenEmu

Joe Hindy / Android Authority
A multi-console emulator constructed for macOS contains nice SNES help.
What we like:
- You possibly can emulate a number of consoles with this one, together with SNES.
- It permits you to select between Snes9x or BSNES for emulation.
- OpenEmu performed our check video games with none drama.
- Configuration for issues like controllers is surprisingly straightforward.
OpenEmu is our advice for SNES emulation on Mac. It will probably emulate a few dozen techniques, and the SNES is one in every of them. It makes use of cores to emulate the assorted techniques, and you may select between the Snes9x core or the BSNES core, relying on which one works higher for you. In observe, this can be a very plug-and-play emulator. It loaded our check video games with none points, and performed them with none drama. The profit with this one is that it comes with good controller help in addition to different consoles so you may obtain video games for different basic techniques and play them there too.
RetroArch

Joe Hindy / Android Authority
A very wonderful multi-console emulator with a number of SNES cores to select from
- Pricing: Free
- Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux (Downloads)
What we like:
- There are extra SNES cores than you shake a stick at, guaranteeing that any recreation you play is playable.
- RetroArch has tons of configuration on all of the platforms the place it’s accessible.
- It performed our check video games with out drama on each Mac and PC.
- It’s accessible on many platforms, together with Android, Raspberry Pi, and others.
What we don’t like:
- This one has a studying curve for emulator newbies.
- There are such a lot of SNES cores that it’s powerful to know what to choose until you already know the great ones.
RetroArch is a multi-console emulator that features help for SNES. It makes use of “cores” as a type of plugin for every console. Thus, you obtain the cores for the console you need, and the emulator will play video games from that console. RetroArch is particular on this record as a result of it has a bunch of cores for SNES. They embrace a number of Snes9x and BSNES cores, relying on what you’re on the lookout for. You too can use Higan if you happen to worth accuracy.
Thus, you will get the identical expertise you may with any emulator on this record, relying in your wants. We examined with BSNES (balanced), the newest Snes9x core, and Higan. All three performed our check video games with out challenge. In truth, those that worth the accuracy of Higan can in all probability get video games working simpler in RetroArch than they’ll in Higan itself. In any case, if you happen to don’t thoughts the training curve, this can be a nice emulator.
Snex9x

Joe Hindy / Android Authority
Essentially the most accessible SNES emulator for PC works very properly.
- Pricing: Free
- Platforms: PC, Linux, Mac (Downloads)
What we like:
- The most well-liked and accessible SNES emulator is kind of straightforward to make use of.
- It’s correct sufficient for informal gaming, which is what most individuals are on the lookout for.
- That stated, it performed all of our check video games splendidly, with no drama or noticeable points.
- It’s free and open-source.
What we don’t like:
- For Mac, at the least, we predict OpenEmu has the higher UI for newbies.
- Not probably the most correct emulator for issues like speedrunning, however it’s not so inaccurate that it issues a lot.
Snes9x is the preferred SNES emulator accessible for PC and Mac at the moment. Tons of individuals use it. It really works properly. It doesn’t have the hardcore accuracy of one thing like Higan, however it shouldn’t have any issues taking part in any SNES recreation you throw at it. The configuration is kind of good, with fairly easy menus. We performed this one for a bit and had no points with it. RetroArch and OpenEmu each use this as one in every of their SNES cores, so you will get this expertise in an all-in-one if you wish to as properly. It’s simply good, and there isn’t a lot else to say about it.
If we missed any nice SNES emulators for PC or Mac, inform us about them within the feedback.