Head-to-head · Game Boy Advance Emulators
GSE vs My Boy!
GSE leads on 1 check, My Boy! on 2, and 3 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.
Our verdict
- Highest scoreGSE · 6.9/10
- Free planboth
- Most featuresMy Boy! · 4 of 5
GSE scores higher on our rubric for game boy advance emulators: 6.9 against 6.7 out of 10; our editors rank them #6 and #8.
On platform scope, GSE gives you Desktop and mobile where My Boy! offers Mobile. My Boy! offers link multiplayer; GSE doesn't publish it. My Boy! offers cheat support; GSE doesn't. GSE offers open source; My Boy! doesn't publish it.
GSE is the better fit for speedrunners needing accurate timing and logging. My Boy! is the better fit for android users wanting link play and cheats.
- GSE fits best
Speedrunners needing accurate timing and logging
- My Boy! fits best
Android users wanting link play and cheats
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Side by side
| Feature | GSE 6.9/10 Visit ↗ | My Boy! 6.7/10 Visit ↗ |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Editor score | 6.9 | 6.7 |
| Ranking | #6 in Game Boy Advance Emulators | #8 in Game Boy Advance Emulators |
| Best for | Speedrunners needing accurate timing and logging | Android users wanting link play and cheats |
| Pricing model | Free | Free plan + paid |
| Starting price | Not published | $4.99one-time |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Deployment | Desktop, Mobile | Mobile |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android | Android |
| Support | Docs | Email, Docs |
| Built for | Solo, Small business | Solo |
| Features GSE 3/5 · My Boy! 4/5 | ||
| Save states | ✓ | ✓ |
| Link multiplayer | Not published | ✓ (best) |
| Cheat support | — | ✓ (best) |
| Graphics enhancements | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open source | ✓ (best) | Not published |
| Specs | ||
| Platform scope | Desktop and mobile | Mobile |
| Our review | ||
| Pros |
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| Cons |
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| Our verdict | GSE is a free, open-source emulator for Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games. Its primary audience is speedrunners, especially those who need accurate timing, consistent frame pacing, low input latency, input logging, and… Read the review → |
My Boy! is a Game Boy Advance emulator for Android phones and tablets. It runs user-provided GBA game files and supports link-cable multiplayer on the same device or across devices through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Its audience is Android users… Read the review → |
Strengths and trade-offs
GSE — where it wins
- Console-accurate timing for supported Game Boy Advance speedruns
- Input logging and 100 savestate slots support run verification
- Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android releases
Where it doesn't
- No cheat support
- Its design prioritizes speedrunning over general-purpose emulation
- The feature set is narrower than a broader gaming-focused emulator
My Boy! — where it wins
- Bluetooth and Wi-Fi link-cable multiplayer
- Supports GameShark, Action Replay, and CodeBreaker cheats
- Google Drive save synchronization in the full version
Where it doesn't
- Android-only platform support
- Games are not included
- Lite version is ad-supported
- GSE6.9/10 · Free plan
A focused, free emulator for speedrunners who need timing accuracy and run verification.
Visit GSEFull verdict → - My Boy!6.7/10 · Free plan · paid from $4.99
A feature-rich Android GBA emulator with link play, cheats, and save synchronization.
Visit My Boy!Full verdict →
More comparisons
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- mGBA vs My Boy!
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- VisualBoyAdvance-M vs My Boy!
- RetroArch vs GSE
- RetroArch vs My Boy!
- SkyEmu vs GSE
- SkyEmu vs My Boy!
All game boy advance emulators comparisons → · Full ranking →
Guides on game boy advance emulators
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Sep 2026
Last updated · How we research and update