If you are an Android fanboy, then you might have thought of getting some of the best android emulators for your PC to try out new apps or even some development works as well. You’ll not only get big screen estate which is better for gaming, you could also do a bunch of other things as well including rooting & trying. Well, having an android emulator doesn’t cost you a penny, as there are tons of free ones out there if you need extra features you have to shell out some bucks.

Let’s go through some of the best Android emulators for Windows PC & MacOS for 2018, these software works fine in Windows 10, 8 & 7. Without any further ado let’s dive in! 12 Best Android Emulators For Windows PC & Mac 2018 1. Nox App Player Minimalism at its peak, Nox App player is one of the minimalistic yet best Android emulator available for Windows & Mac.

If gaming is your area of interest, then it has your name written on, the efficient game rendering engine makes effective use of your system resource & provides you enough headroom for other multitasking as well. Remix OS Player The user interface is easy to use & seems stable throughout our testing, Google Play Store comes by default, so you don’t have to side load. The team behind Remix OS player touting the games it supports & experience you’ll get.

It does perform well in the demanding games but still needs refinement. You could remap the keyboards shortcuts to raise any action you need, and also run multiple games simultaneously, thanks to the effective resource utilisation. If you are covered under the recommended system configuration, it is a pleasant experience. The unavailability of the MacOS & turns off the Apple users, it is not a big deal as the developers claiming this as the Android emulator for Windows PC, not the Mac.

BlueStacks Uncommonly, BlueStacks is one of the most popular yet free emulators. Being a complete Android package on both Windows & Mac, it offers way more functions than most of the commercial user needs. It still runs on Android KitKat version, which makes it a no go for developers, apart from this it is nothing short than its rivals. Bluestacks The multi-gesture support, & seamless integration with the computer peripherals like keyboard, mouse, trackpad & web camera are notable features. Also, there a compatibility with Android TV, if you are into that sort of thing. Simple one-click installation and straightforward user interface make the Bluestack as the top performing player.

To play the graphics intense games, ensure that you have a dedicated graphics card installed on your computer. Unlike most of the Android emulators, you can open most of the apps or games in full-screen mode, which is a bonus for watching videos on Youtube or Netflix. Everything is fine with BlueStacks, except the resource intensive nature.

It doesn’t need much CPU horsepower, but it is a memory hog. If your Windows computer/Mac has 4 GB or less RAM, then you’ll notice lags & even freeze. We don’t recommend, if your system has less than a couple gig of RAM, it might not be the best experience. You can go with any emulators, which we already covered here. Apart, from that everything is good enough. Considering it also received the best software award in CES 2012 for the innovative idea. GenyMotion If you are an app developer or one who tests lots of apps, then you should give Genymotion a shot which is one of the self-claimed developer suits.

It is a complete package for developers that’s is compatible with Android SDK tools, Eclipse and Android Studio. Further, you can go ahead & install Genymotion plugins on your Android Studio for quick access (you should also install Genymotion).

Deploying multiple instances, testing your websites through various browsers – user agents, try your location permission required apps, battery status & pretty everything. Further, you can also automate your app testing through Genymotion’s Java API. It manipulates the sensor values of the specified app & tests it in the different locations & scenarios. Changing the device’s name, IMEI, MEID is seamless, you can even emulate the fake SMS/calls to know how your app reacts to that situation. And other geeky stuff! GenyMotion It takes advantage of the OpenGL compatible graphics cards, which slightly makes it faster & more responsive when performing any graphics-oriented tasks. It is power packed with the developers, Genymotion Cloud is something exciting, you could get Android emulator online using Genymotion Cloud, which resides in the cloud & you could browse your internet browser. Team collaboration & seamless integration is something Genymotion Cloud advertises about.

It is a paid android emulator, which turns off many. Many of the features are only available for the paid version, although there is a free version available to download, you are only limited to use few basic features for non-commercial purpose only.

If you are app developer professionally, then you should get your paid version without any doubt, nothing comes to it. Also, compatibility isn’t an issue, it is available for Windows, MacOS, Linux & Cloud based as well. MEmu MEmu is a light-weight Android emulator comes in few kernels that support Android Jellybean, KitKat & Lollipop, as they tout it will get Marshmallow & Nougat soon. Being a freeware, it has got most of the things like it’s contenders. It supports both Intel & AMD Systems also the dedicated & integrated graphics, in most of the popular games. It is a flexible emulator, means the user can configure CPU, ram, device model & other settings.

Memu Android Player You can also create multiple instances & perform a sort of multitasking within the emulator, which sounds cool though. And it supports full-screen support in some popular games, you can play using keyboard, mouse & even joysticks. Other features including drag-and-drop to install apk files, faster loading times, keyboard mapping, easy file sharing between Android & windows and bunch of others. Andyroid Ever since the launch of Andyroid in 2011, it has been a major player in the Android emulator market for a while now.

Giving the top priorities for the gaming sector, few games perform better in Andy when compared with other emulators. To take things to next level, you can control the gameplay with your Android device if it is synced with the emulator.

Which eliminates the need for any wired/wireless controllers, no other emulator provides this option as of writing this post. It could run most of the apps available on the play store, including communication apps like Hangouts, IMO and others.You can customize anything right from the launchers to the lock screen. The Android skin it has got is stock and without any bloatware, Google Play stores services come by default. The OpenGL acceleration is enabled, which make uses of your computer’s discrete GPU to render graphics. While concentrating on the gaming, Andy doesn’t fall behind in productivity. It is pretty responsive and doesn’t need any high-end system to the requirement to run smoothly.

Andyroid Emulator Unlike other developer kits, you will not get apps testing environment you have to deal with what it has got. It is targetted towards to broad demographic audience who likes to game, multitask and do the normal usage. If you are streamlined audience like Developers, App testers, better you go with Genymotion or Android Studio’s emulator, it provides you the headroom and lot more intuitive tools. It is available for both Windows & MacOS, sorry Linux.

On the whole, it is sort of a complete package, it isn’t a specific niche targeted software, it suits most of the consumer needs. Ko Player Ko Player is another great Win-only Android emulator, which is decent enough to give a shot. Google play store comes by default, also it is compatible with most of the games & apps. The adaptable resolution makes it the best solution for apps like Youtube, Netflix & others to watch the content in full-screen. Other features include drag & drop for installing apps, supports most of the wired/wireless keyboard, mouse, and trackpads. Ko Player It needs a discrete graphics solution and virtualization technology, you could easily enable in your BIOS settings.

It is compatible with both AMD & Intel processors platforms which made it reach most of the user. The one con being, it is only available for Windows, for Mac users you have to wait until they come up with one. Meanwhile, check some other emulators which are far better than Ko Player. YouWave YouWave is elder among all the Android emulators for PC available, it has not updated for years.It has got two different versions, Free & Premium versions.

If you are booted into free software, you’ll be greeted with Android ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich) with some advertisements. Premium has got nothing but Android Lollipop as the OS & no ads that’s what it is. The major drawback being the lack of apps support, apps require any sensor information and apps which use closed APIs might not work in YouWave.

Youwave emulator Unlike most of its competitors, it doesn’t need high-end system configuration because it runs Android ICS which is not a demanding OS at all. It brings nothing new to the table, but if you are looking for a basic software to emulate the Android apps and does light gaming then you can check Youwave. But anything above this requirement you have better options.

It is available only available for Windows, no MacOS or Linux version out there. VirtualBox VirtualBox is not an Android emulator specifically, it is a software that installs other operating systems as Guest OS on your computer. You have to download VirtualBox & Android iOS to get this going, it is quite time-consuming & tedious to set up. Once, you have grounded yourself with the setup, you could play around with Android like you do on a physical device.

Even, few Android emulators like Andyroid are based on the VirtualBox & VMware software. This is powered by Android x86 project, which is one of the unofficial initiatives to bring the Android to the desktop & workstation grade platform running Intel & AMD chipsets. Thanks to the Android’s open source nature, they tweaked few things and made it run on desktops. VirtualBox Running Android You need to create a new instance in VirtualBox & make change settings, add the downloaded Android iOS as disk image you are good to go. If you still unable to get through this step,.

Though you could up & running Android in few minutes we don’t recommend this for most of the consumers. Better go with an android emulator for your computers, rather than downloading iso and setting up the instance. Android Studio’s Emulator Android Studio is the successor to the old yet still used Eclipse IDE. Android Studio grown by leaps and bounds since its initial release in 2013 as beta.

Now, Android Studio also includes an inbuilt emulator to try out the app you develop. That’s another android emulator right?

Android Studio is meant for developers, not for consumers, so that emulator would be most suitable for developers. Android Studio’s Emulator Although the consumer could give a shot, we don’t recommend as there are tons of other best android emulator for both Windows & MacOS out there. You’ll get most of the developer options within the emulator, only with few exceptions.

It comes only with Android’s Studio, you have to install it first. You can check more the emulator. Xamarin Android Player Update: After the successful run, Xamarin Android Player is discontinued. You can continue with the Visual Studio but you will not find any emulator. Xamarin Visual Studio (Rebranded from Xamarin Android Studio) the Microsoft version of Android Studio, developed for Windows & MacOS.

As you might know, every mobile app development comes with a built-in emulator to test things. As this might not the best Android emulator for everyone if you’re a developer or student, it could be a learning curve. If you have got touchscreen laptop or any trackpad, it is compatible with most of them. Xamarin Android Player It is not meant for general consumption, so the consumer might find it hard to navigate. And without Visual Studio you cannot use the emulator, if your desktop is low powered then this might crash.

If you’re a pure developer or need something geeky, then you can go with this Android emulator. LeapDroid Update: LeapDroid was a robust Android emulator for PC a few years back, after the acquisition by Google they stopped the updates & closed customer service door. Still, you can install & use Leapdroid, but you won’t get any sort of updates in the future including the security patches, which is not recommended.

With a clutter-free user interface, well-supported apps & games and lighter impact on system resources, LeapDroid stands out. Unlike other emulators, LeapDroid has sharp features built-in which is best for enhanced gameplay, seamless apps, games compatibility.

The built-in GPS helps you in the navigation system, after all, you don’t have to worry about the shortcuts you can manually assign with the keyword mapping. LeapDroid If you are into gaming, then LeapDroid is the hands down emulator you need. Unlike others, It boots in seconds which is crucial.

A Quick Glance Of What These Best Android Emulators Offering, If you’re not sure which Android emulator to pick for your desktop, go to this table to get an idea. Name Android Version Cost Windows MacOS Nox App player v4.4 (KitKat) Free Yes Yes Remix OS Payer v.6.0.1 9 (Marshmallow) Free Yes No BlueStacks v4.4 (KitKat) Free Yes Yes GenyMotion v4.4 (KitKat) to v7.0.1 (Nougat) Paid Yes Yes MEmu v5.1.1 (Lollipop). Free Yes No Andyroid v4.4 (KitKat) Free Yes Yes Ko Player v5.0.

(Lollipop) Free Yes No Youwave 4.0.4 (ICS) Free Yes No. Needs additional package. Wrapping up, Well, we can provide you the different choice & explains which one excels in what, that’s all. It’s up to you to choose the best Android emulator for your needs. It solely depends on the purpose for wishing the emulator, like X emulator, would be best at gaming but requires lots of horsepower & memory and Y might a great option for the normal consumer, which doesn’t require too much resource but performance won’t be up to the par. After all, it depends on your needs & how you use it.

Hope you found something helpful using this post, feel free to share about these best Android emulator for PC & Mac with your friends & relative, as it helps the website a lot! My experience with bluestacks is the worse, even many ppl (included me), complains about many games freezes, it doesnt support a mid-quality 3d game, the games it supports are only the partnered ones.

What is makes bluestacks slower is the lot of processes when starting it, even when you dont use some features as shared files or the updater (that i must mention after release of BS, there wasnt any update released), the processes are still there consuming resources and limiting you to only the emulator (i mean while playing you cant navigate with your web browser without get a game freeze). And this freezes happen no matter the processor, or RAM you have.

Bluestacks WAS good and I subscribed to it after trying it out. Bluestacks 2 is just not ready and should still be in beta. It took 4 tries to get it installed – the first 3 attempts corrupted things and required a restore from backup. The version installed required restarting the android app using the settings option to access anything. Depending on how it is closed, the icon bar on the left side of the screen remains and cannot be removed without a reboot. Told support I would re-new subscription if they would provide download of original bluestacks but they refused.

Looking now at alternates. This is a nice big list of Android emulators for PC to choose from. I’ve got around to using about half of them, with mixed results. I generally use Nox App Player for most tasks, with MEmu and Blustacks as backups. I ran some benchmark tests on 8 Android emulators with AnTuTu and 3DMark and found that Nox, Bluestacks, and MEmu performed the best. Remix OS is neat for multitasking apps.

Have you tried Droid4X? I like its simplicity, but it interferes with VirtualBox.

Ultimately the performance on Android emulators will vary depending on what they’re being used for, what hardware/software they’re running on, and if VT is required.

There are several reasons for emulating Android on a PC or Mac. It's often easier to test apps on a desktop than a mobile device, and for everyone else there's the appeal of being able to play mobile games on a much larger screen. Indeed, gaming is the most common reason for emulating Android on a desktop computer, though you can also use an emulator to run any app from the Google Play Store. For example, running the Instagram app in an emulator makes it possible to – something that's otherwise impossible.

With that in mind, here are the best emulators to bring Android to your desktop 1. A superb emulator that brings Android games to your desktop is perhaps the best-known Android emulator, and it's hardly surprising given its quality and reliability.

BlueStacks has been designed with ease of use in mind, and looks and feels just like Android on a tablet or smartphone. There are free and paid-for versions available. The free one includes some ads and the occasional sponsored app, but these are pretty discreet. BlueStacks is primarily about games and the interface is essentially a front end for downloading and installing them, but it's also possible to visit the Google Play Store and search for other apps.

Top 3 Best Android Emulator For Mac Pc

If you want to add apps and games from other sources, you have the option of using standalone APK files. Performance is decent assuming your hardware is reasonably powerful, making this a great way to bring Android to the big screen. A free emulator that lets you sideload apps from outside Google Play Like BlueStacks App Player, is a fast, slick Android emulator for PC and Mac. If you're planning to use Nox for gaming, you'll be pleased to learn that you can use your favorite gamepad, and you have the option of mapping keys or buttons to perform various Android gestures. The emulator is based on Android 4.4.2, which is rather old, but this shouldn't be a problem for most apps. Nox gives you a stock version of Android, and while it's designed with gamers in mind, you can install other apps from the Google Play Store too. Nox is completely free, but it includes a number of great extras accessible from a vertical toolbar on the right-hand side of the window.

Best Free Android Emulator

Here you'll find screenshot and video recording shortcut, a link to a macro record, and the option to install software from APKs obtained from outside of Google Play. An older Android emulator, but one that lets you run multiple instances Another Android emulator designed with gaming in mind, has two modes: Speed and Compatibility. It makes sense to try the Speed option first to maximize game performance, but if you run into problems, you still have Compatibility option to fall back on. KOPLAYER also has a rather neat Multi Manager tool that lets you run two or more instances of the emulator at once.

Unfortunately, KOPLAYER is a bit hit and miss, and sometimes crashes even in Compatibility mode. It hasn't been updated for a year, but if you do get it running on your hardware, you're in for a treat. Despite KOPLAYER's focus on games it can run a wide range of other apps too, and there are lots of APKs available to download. Emulate Android on your desktop, and root it to run more apps Based on VMWare Player, is an interesting – if rather huge – Android emulator; the installation weighs in at a colossal 3GB.

There are a couple of optional – and probably unwanted – extras bundled in the installer, so keep an eye out and decline them. Again, the primary idea behind AndY is to bring Android gaming to the desktop, and there's support for not only Xbox and PlayStation controllers, but also the option of using your Android phone as a gamepad. Getting the emulator up and running is rather trickier and less intuitive than the other tools featured here though, and might be enough to put some people off.

This is a shame because AndY is very impressive and it would be great to make it a little more accessible. Available for both Mac and Windows, it also gives you the option of rooting your virtual Android device to run more software. Easily install Android apps from outside the Google Play Store It's one of the newer Android emulators on the block, but has managed to make quite a name for itself – and with good reason. Given that its full name is MEmu Play, it should come as no surprise that – once again – the focus here is on gaming. To get the best performance, it is recommended that you enable virtualization for your CPU. With support for Intel and AMD chips, as well as integrated and dedicated graphics, support levels are very good here.

There's a wealth of keyboard mapping options to enhance your gaming, and you have the option of installing software through the Google Play Store, or by dragging and dropping APKs on to the program window. As with Nox, there's a vertical menu that provides access to a range of additional features, and the only real downside to MEmu is that it's based on the rather elderly Android 5.1.1.

Once you've installed an emulator, try.