15 best Android emulators for PC and Mac of 2022

The best Android emulators for PC and Mac · BlueStacks · LDPlayer · Android Studio · ARChon · Bliss OS · GameLoop · Genymotion · MeMU. BestdailydealsLinksonAndroidAuthoritymayearnusacommission. Learnmore. Apps15bestAndroidemulatorsforPCandMacof2022Wetalkalotaboutemulatingcomputerexperiencesonourphones.Let'slookatthebestAndroidemulators!ByJoeHindy•April5,2022TherearealotofvalidreasonswhysomeonewouldwanttorunAndroidemulatorsontheirPC.Appdevelopersmaybetryingtotesttheirapplicationbeforeshippingitout.Gamersmaywanttouseamouseandkeyboardontheirgames.Maybeyoujustwantittheretohaveit.Inanycase,AndroidemulationonPCispossibleandit’saloteasierthanitusedtobe.Someoldfavoriteseitherleftthespaceorbecameunusableatsomepoint(Andy,AmiduOS,andLeapdroid),buteverythingelsehereshouldworkokayformostpeople.HerearethebestAndroidemulatorsforPCandMac.It’salsoworthnotingthatWindows11hasnativeAndroidappssupport.YoucanreadatutorialonhowthatworkshereandyoucanevenusethePlayStoreifyouwanttogothroughtheeffort.GooglealsolaunchedGooglePlayGamesonWindows11inbeta.Thenativesupportwillbeagreatoptionforgamerswhenit’sfullylaunched.BeingabletorunappsandgamesnativelyonWindows11mayreplaceemulatoruseforawidevarietyofusecasesandmayonedayrenderthislistobsolete. ThebestAndroidemulatorsforPCandMac BlueStacks LDPlayer AndroidStudio ARChon BlissOS GameLoop Genymotion MeMU MuMu Nox PhoenixOS PrimeOS RemixOSPlayer Xamarin Makeyourown ThethreemainusesforAndroidemulators Therearethreemainusesforemulators.Thefirstisthemostcommonandit’sforgaming.Gamerscanuseemulatorsontheircomputerstomakesomegameseasiertoplay.Theydon’thavetorelyonthebatterylifeoftheirdevicesandtheexistenceofmacrosandothertrickshelptheprocess.Inmostcases,theselittletricksaren’tillegal(inmostgames)sonobodyreallyhasaproblemwithit.ThebestAndroidemulatorsforgamingincludeBlueStacks,LDPlayer,MeMu,KoPlayer,andNox.Thesecondmostcommonusecaseisdevelopment.Androidappandgamedevelopersliketotestappsandgamesonasmanydevicesaspossiblebeforelaunch.Fortunately,AndroidStudiocomeswiththe“AndroidVirtualDevice”(AVD)whichblowsallotheremulatorsoutofthewaterintermsofperformanceandfunctionality.Theonlydrawbackfornon-developersisthatitcomeswithaninstallationofthespace-hungryAndroidStudioandAndroidSoftwareDevelopmentKit(SDK).Ofcourse,thisisnoproblemfordevelopersthatalreadyhaveallthenecessarysoftwareontheirmachines.Thefinalmaintypeisproductivity.Thisisn’tnearlyascommonbecauseChromebooksarecheaperandbetterforusingAndroidappsonsomethingotherthanaphoneandmostproductivitytoolsarecross-platform.Inthisdayandage,werecommendgoingwithaChromebook(withreasonablydecentspecs)ifyouwanttorunproductivityappsinalaptoporcomputerenvironment.It’ssimplybetter.Finally,abitofadisclaimer.Atthistime,noconsumeremulatorsrunthelatestversionsofAndroid.TheonlyplaceyoucanfinditisinAndroidStudioandit’snotforplayingmobilegames.Luckily,mostappsandgamesstillfunctiononolderversionsofAndroidsothisshouldn’tbeabigdeal. PROMOTED BlueStacks Price:Free BlueStacksisknownbymanyuserstobethemostcomprehensiveAndroidappplayerinthemarket,andwithgoodreason.AsidefromrunningonbothWindowsandMac,thisemulatorcomesjam-packedwithatonoffeaturestoimprovethegamer’sexperience.Itsmostpopularfeaturesinclude theKeymappingTooltocreatecustomizedcontrolschemes,theInstanceManagerthroughwhichyoucancreatemultipleinstancesoftheemulatorandrunseveralgamessimultaneously,andquality-of-lifefeatureslikeEcoMode,whichhelptoreduceresourceconsumptionwhilerunningthemostdemandinggames.It’salsothesafestemulatoroutthere,withcertifiedGDPRcompliance—yourdataisalwayssafewiththem.Themostrecentversion,BlueStacks5,isthelightestandfastesttheemulatorhaseverbeen,deliveringhigh-performancegamingevenonlow-enddevices.Thelatestversionaddressessomeofthemostcommoncomplaintsofthepreviousversion—namely,thefactthatitcanfeelbloated,especiallywhenrunningoninferiorhardware.TryitrightnowforyourselfanddiscoverwhyBlueStackshasacommunityofover500-milliongamersaroundtheworld! Interestedinmore?CheckoutthebestgamestobeplayedonBlueStacks. LDPlayer Price:FreeJohnDye/AndroidAuthorityLDPlayer isalightweightAndroidemulatorfocusingongamingperformance.RunningAndroidNougat7.1,itfeaturestheusualarrayofgamer-orientedfeatures,includinggoodkeyboardmappingcontrols,multi-instance,macros,highFPS,andgraphicalsupport.Itsupportsmanygames,includingEpicSeven,ClashofClans,Arknights,andmanyothers.Thisisoneofthefewemulatorsonthelistthatgetsactiveupdatestoimprovecompatibility.Inthelatestversions,LDPlayerhasoptimizedthesmoothnessofFreeFire&MobileLegendsandfixedthedevicerestrictiononMoonlightSculptor.Besidesthat,LDPlayerisalsoawell-roundedemulatorforusingTikTok,Instagram,andotherpopularapps.ItborrowsabitofdesignfromBluestacks,butthat’snotreallyabadthing.It’sagoodall-rounderandshouldbittheneedsofmost. AndroidStudioemulator Price:Free AndroidStudioisthedefaultdevelopmentconsole(integrateddevelopmentenvironment,orIDE)forAndroid.ItcomeswithabunchoftoolstohelpdevelopersmakeappsandgamesspecificallyforAndroid.Asitturnsout,thereisalsoabuilt-inemulatorthatyoucanusetotestoutyourapporgame.WeusetheemulatortotestoutnewversionsofAndroidfromtimetotime.Thesetupisrathercomplicatedsoitwon’tappealtoeveryonebutitisbyfarthefastestandmostfeature-richoptiononthislist.YoucanrunvanillaAndroid,downloadappsfromtheGooglePlayStoreasyounormallywould,addcustomlaunchersandkeyboards,andemulateanysizeorform-factordevice.Youcaneventryoutfoldabledevices! ARChon Price:FreeARChonisn’tatraditionalemulator.YouinstallitasaGoogleChromeextension.ItthengivesChrometheabilitytorunAndroidappsandgames(albeitwithlimitedsupport).It’snotaneasyemulatortogetrunning.You’llhavetoinstallthethingtoChrome.Fromthere,youhavetoobtainAPKsandloadthemin.Asanaddedrub,youmayneedtouseatooltochangetheAPKinordertomakeitcompatible.TherearealotmorestepstomakethisworkthanmostotherAndroidemulatorsforPC.Ontheplusside,though,itworkswithanyoperatingsystemthatcanrunaninstanceofChrome(macOS,Linux,Windows,etc).WelinkedtotheofficialGitHubwhereyoucanfinddetailedinstructionsforitsuse. BlissOS Price:Free/OptionaldonationsJoeHindy/AndroidAuthorityBlississomethingalittlebitdifferent.ItworksasanAndroidemulatorforPCviaavirtualmachine.However,itcanalsojustflatrunonyourcomputerthroughaUSBstick.Theboot-from-USBoptionisdefinitelyapoweruseroptionandnotrecommendedforlessintenseusecases.AsaVMinstall,theprocessiseasy,buttediousifyou’venevermadeyourownvirtualmachinebefore.TheUSBinstallationmethodisevenmorecomplicated,butitletsyourcomputeractuallyrunAndroidnativelyfromboot.Wedon’trecommendthisoneforthefaintofheart.ThatmakesBlissasuperuniqueemulatorifyoucanmakeitthroughthestepstotheend.Ofcourse,itonlyreallyrunswellifyoursystemiscompatiblesobepreparedwithabackupofyourcurrentoperatingsystem.ThesystemrunsAndroidOreoandthat’samongthenewerversionsofAndroidofferedonanemulator.YoucanalsofindmoreinfoaboutthisonitsXDA-Developersthreadhere. Readmore: ThebestemulatorsforAndroidtoplayoldfavorites ThebestSNESemulatorsforAndroid GameLoop Price:FreeGameLoop,formerlyknownasTencentGamingBuddy,isanAndroidemulatorforgamers.Infact,it’sgoodenoughthatTencentcallsittheofficialemulatorforitsgames,includingCallofDuty:MobileandPUBGMobile.Ofcourse,itfeaturesothergamesasidefromTencent’s,althoughitscollectionisn’tasbigasitcouldbe.Theemulatordownloadedandinstalledfineandthegameswetestedranjustfine.Thisoneisnotgoodforproductivityordevelopmentaltesting.However,ifyouhaveanitchformobileFPSgamingalongwithsometitles,thisisactuallyafairlydecentgamingemulatoranditboastsagoodcollectionofnewertitles.Plus,thekeyboardcontrolsandperformanceisgood.  Genymotion Price:Freewithpaidoptions ThisAndroidemulatorismostlyfordevelopers.Itletsyoutestyourappsonavarietyofdeviceswithoutowningthem.YoucanconfiguretheemulatorforavarietyofdeviceswithvariousversionsofAndroidtohelpsuityourneeds.Forinstance,youcanrunaNexusOnewithAndroid4.2oraNexus6withAndroid6.0.Youcaneasilyswitchbetweenvirtualdevicesatwill.It’snotgreatforconsumeruses,butGenymotiondoesofferitsservicesforfreeforpersonaluse.Itsmostusefulfeatureisitsavailabilityonbothyourdesktopcomputerandthecloud.ThosewithoutpowerfulcomputerscanmakeGenymotion’sserversdoalltheworkforthem. MEmuemulator Price:Free/$2.99permonth/$29.98peryearMEmuisanotherexcellentAndroidemulatorthatseemstodoquitewellwithgamers.OneofitsbiggestfeaturesissupportforbothAMDandIntelchipsets.MostworkonAMDprocessors,butit’snicetoseedevelopersspecificallypayattentiontoAMD’splatform.ThelatestMEmurunsAndroid7.1,abigjumpfromitsearlydayswhenitran4.3JellyBean.Youcanevenrunmultipleinstancesatonceformultiplegamesortestingfeatures.ItaimsitselfatgamersmuchlikeBluestacksandsimilaremulatorsbutit’susableasaproductivitytooltoo.Thepremiumversionrunsfor$2.99permonthanditdisablesads,addsmorecustomizationoptions,andenablespremiumsupportoptions.Theemulatorgetsupdatesonafairlyfrequentbasis.Youcancheckouttherunningchangeloghere. MuMu Price:FreeNetEasemadeanactuallydecentemulatorwithMuMu.It’sanothergamingemulatorwithmostofthesamefeaturesasitscompetitors.TheemulatorrunsAndroid7likemostofitscompetitors.Thatsaid,ithasadecentboottimeandenoughfeaturestowarrantconsideration.Thereisalsoabetaversionspecificallyforlow-endcomputersaswell.Wedidn’thaveanyoutstandingissuesusingit,butitranwellandwewereabletodownloadallthegameswewantedtotest.MeMU,Bluestacks,andGameLoopkindofsurpasseditintermsoffeaturesandallthreeofthosegetregularupdates.However,ifnoneofthosework,thisoneprobablywill. Nox Price:FreeJoeHindy/AndroidAuthorityNoxisanotherAndroidemulatorforPCthatworkswellforgaming.Thatincludestheusualstufflikekey-mappingwithyourkeyboard,actualcontrollersupport,andeventheabilitytokey-mapgesturecontrols.Forinstance,youcanassignthefunctiontoswiperighttoanarrowkeyandusethatinagamewithoutactualhardwarecontrollersupport.Noxgetsregularupdates.It’salsooneofthefewthatrunsAndroid9,amuchnewerversionthantheAndroid7thatmostemulatorsrun.Thisemulatoralsofeaturesmultipleinstancessoyoucanplaymultiplegames.Thereisevenscriptrecording.Noxstartedoutasalightweightalternativetoheavierhitters,butit’squicklybecomingalotmorematureandusable. Readmore: 15bestAndroidappsavailablerightnow 15bestAndroidgamesavailablerightnow PhoenixOS Price:FreePhoenixOSisoneofthenewerAndroidemulatorsforPC.Likemostthesedays,itboastsagamerexperience.However,italsoboastsadesktop-likeexperiencesoitactuallyworksprettywellforproductivityaswell.IthasGooglePlayServices,althoughupdatingthoseservicescanbeabitofapainsometimes.ThatmeansyougeteveryappandgameintheGooglePlayStore.PhoenixOSalsorunsAndroid7.1whichisrelativelymodernforanAndroidemulator.YoucandownloadtheemulatorfromitsofficialwebsiteanditsforumsarehousedonXDA-Developers. PrimeOS Price:FreePrimeOSiskindofastandoutintheAndroidemulatorspace.It’snotactuallyanemulator.YouinstallthisasapartitiononyourcomputeranditbootsuprunningnativeAndroid.It’sagamer-focusedAndroidexperience,althoughyoucantotallyusethisforproductivityifyoureallywantto.PrimeOSincludesagamingcenter,supportformouseandkeyboard,andaccesstomostAndroidappsandgames.Tobefrank,italmostrunslikeChromeOSminusalltheChromeparts.Youcanmultitask,watchvideocontent,orplaygamesasyouchoose.PerhapsthecoolestpartisthatyoucanrunitwiththelatestversionsofAndroid(uptoAndroid11)sinceyoudon’tneedavirtualmachine.Theofficialwebsiteisoneoftheworstonthelist,butluckilyyoudon’thavetogothereveryoftenexcepttodownloadPrimeOS. RemixOSPlayer Price:Free RemixOSPlayerbyJideisanolderAndroidemulatorforPC.ItrunsAndroidMarshmallowandthat’snotthenewestyoucanfindthesedays.Theinstallationprocessisprettysimpleandusingitisalsofairlyeasy.Itcatersmostlytogamers.Thereareafewgamer-specificfeaturesalongwithacustomizabletoolbar.Itboastsfeatureslikerunningmultiplegamesatonce.Thatsaid,it’safairlycleanemulatorsoit’sstillperfectlyusableasaproductivitytool.Theofficialsiteseemstobedownandwe’rerelativelycertainRemixOSPlayerisn’tinactivedevelopmentanymore.YoucanstilldownloadthebuildsfromSourceforgeincaseyouwantsomethingolder,butstillreasonablystable. Xamarin Price:Free/Enterpriseoptions XamarinisanIDEsimilartoAndroidStudio.ThedifferenceisthatitcanplugintothingslikeMicrosoftVisualStudioforanevenlargerdevelopmentenvironment(forbetterorforworse).Also,liketheAndroidStudio,thiscomeswithabuilt-inemulatorforapporgametesting.Incaseitwasn’treadilyapparent,weonlyrecommendthisonetodevelopers.Thesetupissimplytootediousforregularconsumeruse.Xamarin’semulatorisnotaspowerfulassomethinglikeGenymotion,butit’llgetthejobdoneifyouintendonusingthisandit’salsoconfigurableforyourneeds.It’sfreeforpersonaluse.Companiesandlargerteamsmayhavetonegotiateapaymentplan. Makeyourown Price:Free(usually) Asitturnsout,youcanbuildyourownemulator.Here’showitworksinanutshell.YouneedtodownloadVirtualBox(linkedabove).YouthenhavetodownloadanimagefromAndroid-x86.org.Fromthere,it’sjustamatteroffindingoneofthemanyguidesonlineandfollowingthesteps.Thisiseasilyoneofthemoredifficultmethods,butstillnotquiteastediousordifficultassettingupawholeIDElikeAndroidStudioorXamarin.Wedon’trecommendyoutrywithoutatutorialandalittlepriorknowledge.Itwon’tworkwell,it’llbebuggy,andunlessyou’reacoder,it’llbedifficulttofix.Still,it’llbeyourstocustomizeasyoupleaseandwhoknows,maybeyou’llmakeandreleaseanemulatorthat’lladornthislistsomeday. IfwemissedanyofthebestAndroidemulatorsforPC,tellusabouttheminthecomments!YoucanalsoclickheretocheckoutourlatestAndroidappandgamelists!Herearewhathappenedtosomeoldclassicsfromthelist: LeapdroidwaspurchasedbyGoogleandnolongeroperates. AMIDuOScloseditsdoorsofficiallyonMarch7th,2018.Youcanstilltryitout,butyouhavetobrowsetheofficialsubredditfordownloadlinks. Andybeganusingsomeseriouslynotgreatdevelopmenttactics,includingsuspectedbitcoinminingwithoutuserpermission.Wedon’tknowifit’sfromthethird-partyinstallerorfromtheAndydeveloperssountilthatwholesituationresolves,we’rekeepingitoffofthelist. Droid4xusedtobeoneofthebestoptionsanditslaterbuildsarestillavailable.However,itisnolongeractivelyupdatedsoweremoveditfromthelist. KoPlayerisanoutstandingAndroidemulatorforgamers.However,thewebsiteappearstobedownasofthetimeofthiswriting.Ifitcomesbackupbythetimeweupdatethispieceagain,we’llgladlyadditbacktothelist. YouWave,aonce-popularoption,hasfallenoutoffavorbecauseitrunsmucholderversionsofAndroidthanmostofitscompetitors.Youcanstillgetitatthelink,butit’snotinactivedevelopmentsoitwon’tgetanymoreupdates. Mostoftherestsimplyhaven’tbeenupdatedorinactivedevelopmentinyearsanddon’treallyworkwellanymorewithneweroperatingsystemsandhardware.Ifwemissedany,letusknowinthecomments! Thankyouforreading.Trytheseouttoo: ThebestofficeappsforAndroidtogetworkdone ThebestcloudstorageservicesandappsforAndroid AndroidDevelopmentAppsAndroidGamesBestAppsBlueStacksEmulatorComments