ZX Spectrum emulators

ZX Spectrum

Developer	Sinclair Research
Type	Home computer
Generation	8-bit
Release date	UK: 23 April 1982 US: November 1983 EU: 1984
Discontinued	1985/1992
Predecessor	ZX81
Successor	QL, Sinclair PC200
Emulated	✓

For emulators that run on the ZX Spectrum, see Emulators on ZX Spectrum.

The ZX Spectrum (Pronounced ZED-ex) is an 8-bit home computing platform developed by Sinclair in 1982. It was one of the three major 8-bit home computer platforms that dominated the market in the United Kingdom during the 1980s, alongside the Commodore 64 and the Amstrad Colour Personal Computer. The "Spectrum" is in reference to its color display, an innovation from the previous model, the ZX81. The Spectrum was released as eight different models, ranging from the entry-level model with 16 KiB RAM released in 1982 to the ZX Spectrum +3 with 128 KiB RAM and built-in floppy disk drive in 1987; together they sold in excess of 5 million units worldwide, not accounting for the numerous clones. The device was highly significant in British culture, so much so that its creator, Clive Sinclair, was knighted for services to the British industry, in 1983. Spectrum game development continues to this day, with over 100 new releases since 2012.

Emulators

An old list of emulators can be found here.

Name	Platform(s)	Latest version	Active	License	Compatibilty	libretro	Recommended
PC
EightyOne (81)		1.41	✓	GPL (Copyleft)		~ (WIP)	✓
FUSE		1.9.1 Ports	✓	GPLv2 (Copyleft)		✓	✓
Speccy		5.9	✓	Proprietary		✗	✓
ZEsarUX		13.0	✓	GPL (Copyleft)		✗	✓
BizHawk		2.11.1	✓	MIT GPL		✗	~
Retro Virtual Machine		[https://www.retrovirtualmachine.org/changelog/ This page is a candidate for deletion. The reason is: "duplicate template" If you disagree with the candidate, explain why at the talk page or improve the page and remove the {{delete}} tag. Remember to check for any active links to the page and its history before deleting. ]	✓	Proprietary		✗	~
Spectaculator		9.0.2	✓	Proprietary		✗	~
EMU (Russian)		1.01	✗	Proprietary		✗	✗
Xpeccy		0.6.20260804	✓	MIT (Permissive)		✗	✗
DSP		git	✓	Non-commercial		✗	✗
fbzx		git	✗	GPLv3 (Copyleft)		✗	✗
JSpeccy		git	✓	?		✗	✗
MAME		0.289	✓	GPLv3 BSD-3-Clause		✓	✗
UnrealSpeccyP		git	✓	GPLv3 (Copyleft)		✗	✗
ZX4ALL		Beta 2	✗	?		✗	✗
X128		0.94	✗	Non-commercial		✗	✗
MTMW (aka 'MulTiMachine')		1.30b	✗	?		✗	✗
#CSpect		3.0.15.2	✗	?		✗	✗
LnxSpectrum		1.9.3	✓	?		✗	✗
Spectral		1.16	✓	Unlicense (Public domain) MIT-0/BSD-0-Clause (Public domain equivalent)		✗	?
SpecEmu		3.4	✓	?		✗	?
Swan		0.9.8	✓	Apache 2.0 (Permissive)		?	?
CLK		2026-07-23	✓	MIT (Permissive)		✗	TBD
ares		git Artifacts v148	✓	ISC (Permissive)	100% 7 out of 7 reported titles	✗	TBD
Pantheon		16.458	✓	Proprietary		?	?
ZX-Poly		2.4.0	✓	GPLv3 (Copyleft)		✗	TBD
ZXSEC		20240830	✓	?		✗	TBD
Spud		v0.307	✓	Proprietary		✗	TBD
Warajevo		2.51	✗	?		✗	?
zxian		v35	✓	?		✗	?
Mobile
Speccy		5.9.4	✓	Proprietary		✗	✓
Spectaculator		8.0 (iOS) 2.5 (Android)	✓	Proprietary		✗	~
Spectacol		1.6.0.5	✓	Proprietary		✗	✗
Provenance		3.3.0 git	✓	?		?	?
UnrealSpeccyP		0.0.86.9	✓	GPLv3 (Copyleft)		✗	✗
Console
FUSE		v0.10.02 1.0.0.1 Alpha 1	✗	?		✓	✓
PSPectrum		1.0.4	✗	Proprietary		✗	✓
ZXDS		1.4.1 (NDS) 2.2.2 (3DS)	✓	Proprietary		✗	✓
GoldenEye 007/Donkey Kong 64		Patch	✗	Proprietary		✗	✓
FBZX Wii		v10	✗	?		✗	✓
Foon		0.22	✗	Proprietary		✗	~
UnrealSpeccyP		0.0.62	✗	GPLv3 (Copyleft)		✗	✗
Fuse PSP		0.10.0.21	✗	GPLv2 (Copyleft)		✗	✗
UnrealSpeccyP		0.0.86.9	✓	GPLv3 (Copyleft)		✗	✗
DreamSpec		Various	✗	?		✗	TBD
ZX4ALL		Beta 2	✗	?		✗	TBD

Models

ZX Spectrum 16K

The ZX Spectrum 16K was released on April 28, 1982, for £99. It had a Zilog Z80A at 3.5 MHz with 16KB of RAM.

ZX Spectrum 48K

The ZX Spectrum 48K was released the same time as the 16K was and retailed for £125 with 48K of RAM.

ZX Spectrum+

The ZX Spectrum+ was released in October of '84 and retailed for £179.95. It had a mechanical keyboard and a new case. its technical specifications are the same as the 48K.

ZX Spectrum 128

The ZX Spectrum 128 had 128KB of RAM, MIDI, and an external keypad. This machine actually launched in Spain first because, in the UK, there were still so many unsold ZX Spectrum machines that they decided to wait.

ZX Spectrum+2

The ZX Spectrum+2 is the first ZX Spectrum to be made under Amstrad after they purchased the Sinclair brand. It had a tape deck built in.

ZX Spectrum+2A

The ZX Spectrum+2A was released in 1987 and is a varient of the later ZX Spectrum 3 which didn't have the floppy drive.

ZX Spectrum+3

The ZX Spectrum+3 was released in 1987 and had a built-in floppy drive with 128K of RAM. It retailed for £249.

ZX Spectrum+2B

The ZX Spectrum+2B fixed some audio clipping issues and it can't be upgraded to a floppy disk drive.

ZX Spectrum+3B

The ZX Spectrum+3B fixed some audio clipping issues and it cannot have a tape drive.

External links

• Zophar's Domain (Huge, heady chart showing download links and info of many old ZX / Spectrum / QL Series emulators)
• ZXPlanet (Emulators page with links to detailed reviews of many old ZX Spectrum emulators)
• Retro Isle (Page showing three old emulators for ZX Spectrum)
• ConsoleRoms (Page showing a couple other emulators)