Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Windows 95

Windows 95 app that runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux

Windows 95 is an Electron app that emulates the full Windows 95 operating system and runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux. It allows users to experience the classic 1995 interface and functionality within a standalone… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Windows 95 launched in 2018; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Windows 95 in an Electron App▲213

   Windows 95 in an app. Runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows. - felixrieseberg/windows95

   2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

2. 2W9
   Windows 95 in the browser▲15

   2015 · win95.ajf.me · its alternatives →

3. 3
   macintosh.js▲198

   A 1991 Macintosh in an app - for Windows, Linux, and macOS

   2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Electron 1.0▲647

   Build cross platform desktop apps

   2016 · electronjs.org · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Windows 96▲88

   A live simulation of Windows 98 in the browser

   2021 · windows96.net · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Windows 98 in browser▲356

   Run KolibriOS, Linux or Windows 98 in your browser

   2016 · copy.sh · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Windows 93▲133

   Clickable OS of a world in-between Windows 3.1 and 95

   2015 · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Windows 9X▲148

   Windows 98 but all of the apps are AI generated

   2024 · windows9x.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Sacred OS▲155

   Retro OS in your browser

   2024 · sacred.neocities.org · its alternatives →

10. 10
    My x86 emulator written in JavaScript▲765

    Run KolibriOS, Linux or Windows 98 in your browser

    2013 · copy.sh · its alternatives →

11. 11
    UI95▲137

    Refreshed windows95 UI components for modern web apps

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Windows 95 Themed Job Board (With Minesweeper)▲9

    Hi all, 1995 was a simpler time. There was no react, SSR, component libraries, and developers only had 4MB of RAM to work with. If you ask me, UIs have only gone downhill since then. So I created windows95jobs.com so people can experience the joy of simpler software while looking for a new SWE job. Repo: https://github.com/KyleMoore1/Win95Jobs (Built with react lol)

    2025 · windows95jobs.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    A simple Unix-like operating system that runs Doom▲233

    A Simple Unix-like operating system. Contribute to ozkl/soso development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

14. 14
    I rewrote my Mac Electron app in Rust▲597

    A year ago, my co-founder launched Desktop Docs here on HN. It's a Mac app we built with Electron that uses CLIP embeddings to search photos and videos locally with natural language. We got positive feedback from HN and our first paying customers, but the app was almost 1GB and clunky to use. TLDR; rebuilding in Rust was the right move. So we rewrote the app with Rust and Tauri and here are the results: - App size is 83% smaller: 1GB → 172MB - DMG Installer is 70% smaller: 232MB → 69.5MB - Indexing files is faster: A 38-minute video now indexes in ~3 minutes instead of 10-14 minutes -…

    2025 · desktopdocs.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Arc for Windows▲473

    The Chrome replacement you've been waiting for

    2024 · arc.net · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Windows 95 In Browser ▲3

    Emulator To Bring Windows 95 On Your Browser!

    2016 · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Win95 Media Player▲69

    Windows 95 media player in your browser

    2019 · benwiley4000.github.io · its alternatives →

18. 18
    A DOS-like hobby OS written in Rust and x86 assembly▲207

    To try it out, simply build the project yourself from source, or use attached bootable ISO image of the system (in Releases on Github) and run it in QEMU. https://blog.vxn.dev/rou2exos-rusted-edition

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    RetroTick – Run classic Windows EXEs in the browser▲195

    RetroTick parses PE/NE/MZ binaries, emulates an x86 CPU, and stubs enough Win32/Win16/DOS APIs to run classics like FreeCell, Minesweeper, Solitaire and QBasic, entirely in the browser. Built with Preact + Vite + TypeScript. Demo: https://retrotick.com GitHub: https://github.com/lqs/retrotick

    Feb 2026 · retrotick.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    QEMU front end for M1 and Intel Macs▲418

    Securely run operating systems on your Mac

    2021 · mac.getutm.app · its alternatives →

21. 21
    A new hobby OS from “scratch” in C#▲310

    A multitasking monolithic Kernel based x86 targeting Operating System written in C# from scratch aiming for high-level implementation of drivers in managed environment. - amaneureka/AtomOS

    2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Electron▲15

    Cross platform desktop application shell

    2015 · electronjs.org · its alternatives →

23. 23
    2D Game engine and editor for Windows and Linux▲121

    Hello HN, Just wanted to show this little 2D game engine that I've been working on for some time (around 2 years on the editor part, longer on some of the components). It's quite full featured but obviously this a project of such magnitude already that the work never really ends. That being said it's definitely already at a point where games can made and published. The editor runs natively on Windows and Linux using Qt5. The games can run on both Win and Linux as well as on WASM with WebGL. Feature wise there's a bunch of the stuff you'd expect. Audio, graphics, scripting,…

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Win95 Cloph version▲1

    A 3D Windows 95 web app with search and an AI-like assistant

    Aug 2026 · cloph-win95.edgeone.dev · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →