This article will explain what VLC Media Player is and the best VLC alternatives for Windows, Mac and Linux. VLC is a free, powerful, feature-rich program that can play different music, picture, and video files. In addition, it can play multimedia files straight from removable media or the computer.
Additionally, the program may be accessed on major Disney+, Hulu, Gaia, and Netflix. Live video from PlayStation Live, Xbox Live, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube is also supported by VLC Multimedia Player. VLC Player does not display adverts because a non-profit organization supports it, unlike most competing products.
What is VLC Media Player?
In this article you will know about what is VLC media player and the best VLC alternatives for windows and Mac. VLC is well-known in the video playback world for being an application that can open almost any audio/video format you can throw at it. VLC can almost certainly playback everything from esoteric video files to radio stream links and everything in between. Aside from being open source and available on every major platform, there’s a reason it ranks so high in search results and recommendation articles. Check out the best offline music player for Android.
Though VLC is one of the most well-known and adaptable video players accessible, individuals seeking the most efficient or robust players have several suitable options to select from. Whether it’s low-footprint players like Media Player Classic and its forks, or players with more flexibility and diversity like KMPlayer, make sure to look at alternatives and research what would best meet your video and audio playback use case. Also check our article on best song Identifier apps for Android.
Features
- Media player that is simple, quick, and powerful.
- Files, Discs, Webcams, Devices, and Streams are all supported.
- Most codecs are supported without the requirement for codec packs: MPEG-2, DivX, H.264, MKV, WebM, WMV, MP3, and so on.
Best VLC Alternatives for Windows and Mac
It is an open-source multimedia player and framework. It can play most multimedia files and DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and numerous streaming protocols. This article is about the 20 best VLC alternatives for windows and Mac you should use. So let’s check them out;
1. MPC-HC
The most significant advantage of MPC-HC is likely its small size. Not only is it small in terms of hard drive space, but it also uses minimal CPU and overall system resources when compared to other video players, including VLC.
It practically does everything a media player should do. Its speed, hard-disk capacity, and CPU usage are all relatively low compared to its competitors. Besides, one has: By default, you have complete control over the size of the playing screen, but you may also use the cursor-dragging options. Full control over video, audio, and playlists Complete control over all post-game options. Appreciate everyone who contributed to the program’s creation. It is the best VLC alternatives for Windows as well as free for users.
Features: Free, Open Source, Windows, PortableApps.
Audio Player: Video Streaming, Image Viewer, Webcam recording.
2. PotPlayer
PotPlayer is a modular video player that, by default, supports the majority of video file types. Many of our users also report that it starts up faster and performs better than VLC while offering minor quality-of-life enhancements that can be beneficial in particular situations (such as support for two subtitle tracks on the same video file to help learn a new language).
PotPlayer is the most excellent VLC alternative for Windows users. It has many more features and runs far more smoothly than VLC ever could. It also has an excellent user interface.
Features: Free, Proprietary, Windows.
Media Player: Audio Player, Screen Recorder, Support for Keyboard Shortcuts, Customizable, Graphical User Interface, Support for subtitles, Skinnable, Playback speed control, Integrated Cod.
3. MPV
It is a video player that runs on all major desktop operating systems and is based on MPlayer. MPV is regarded as one of the best alternatives to VLC among Linux users. Its interface is incredibly simple, yet it provides exceptional stability.
VLC was once rightfully regarded as the greatest open-source, cross-platform movie player. It has significantly narrowed the gap and is likely to function out-of-the-box in a handful of circumstances where VLC becomes stuck. Excellent piece of software. Of course, an open-source (trustworthy) and free source. It is best VLC alternatives for Windows, Mac, Linux and android.
Features: Free, Open Source, Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, BSD, Xfce.
Media Player: Audio Player, Lightweight, Minimalistic, Integrated Codecs, Low resource footprint, Command-line interface, Extensible by Plugins/Extensions, Drag n drop, GNU/Linux-libre, Lua scriptin.
4. SMPlayer
SMPlayer, like MPV, is built on MPlayer; however, unlike MPV, its user interface is more focused on accessibility. Users praise SMPlayer for combining the versatility and stability of MPV with the convenience of use of players such as VLC. It also allows add-ons like YouTube searches.
SMPlayer is a superior choice for playing videos and has a more user-friendly interface than rivals such as MPV. Beyond playing, I enjoy it, but it is not intuitive.
I’m having trouble sharing playlists created in VLC with other players, regardless of the format. Playlists in SMPlayer just work.
Features: Free, Open Source, Windows, Linux, BSD, MPV, PortableApps, Haiku, MPlayer.
Media Player: Lightweight, Customizable, Ad-free, Support for subtitles, Skin customization.
5. MX Player
Even though MX Player only works on Android smartphones, it is widely regarded as one of the best video players on the platform. If you’re searching for a simple, optimized video player, MX Player is worth checking out on your Android phone or tablet. It has significant customization options, an Android-friendly interface, and a plethora of supported video codecs. Fully customizable, highly user-friendly interface, modern style, and extremely powerful. It is best VLC alternatives for Android devices.
Features: Freemium, Proprietary, Android, Android Tablet.
Media Player: Hardware Accelerated, Customizable, Multiple languages, Audio playback.
6. MPC-BE
MPC-BE is a branch of Media Player Classic (mainly the Home Cinema fork) that focuses on bug fixes and automated ISO image mounting. It is constantly updated and excels at video playback. However, users do not suggest it for music listening since it does not allow playlist looping and has strange behavior while shuffling media playback.
Features: Free, Open Source, Windows.
Media Player: Audio Player, Lightweight, Night mode/Dark Theme, Portable, Thumbnails.
7. Kodi
Though Kodi may be used in place of VLC, its benefits lay in its rich media cataloging and robust sorting and categorization options for TV series, movies, and music. In addition, its media server skills are prominent, and its playback functionality is nothing to scoff at.
Kody is primarily a fullscreen video/music cataloging program. Still, it also features an inbuilt video/audio/IPTV playing system with excellent decoding capabilities, similar to VLC, and it can be windowed.
Features: Free, Open Source, Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, iPhone, Android Tablet, BSD, iPad.
Media Center: Media Player, Media Server, Media Streaming, TV Shows metadata support.
8. Media Player Classic
is a classic media player. Though it has been discontinued and nearly entirely replaced by successors such as Media Player Classic Home Cinema, some users still swear by it as a type of “old trustworthy” video player that can play most files thrown at it without difficulty. However, it has been ten years since its previous release; thus, it is highly advised that you check into MPC-HC and other forks currently being developed.
Features: Free, Open Source, Windows.
Media Player: Support for subtitles.
9. IINA
Even though it is only available on macOS, IINA’s customers praise it as lightweight, efficient, and performant. Minor annoyances such as VLC’s performance-based audio-video-subtitle desyncs are not an issue while utilizing IINA. Furthermore, its UI is simple and tidy, with clearly labeled settings because its ease of use and good performance is an obvious suggestion for macOS users seeking a media player.
The ideal option for macOS users who like a compact, quick, and minimalistic (but highly useful!) media player. PiP integrates well with the Mac touch bar and gestures, and it appears to be native software rather than a hack. It is best VLC alternatives for Mac.
Features: Free, Open Source, Mac, MPV.
Media Player: Audio Player, Lightweight, Picture in Picture, Clean design, Automatic subtitles download, Touchbar integration, Support for subtitles.
10. KMPlayer
KMPlayer’s UI has been more functional and user-friendly than VLC or Media Player Classic Home Cinema. Its playlist organizer is more analogous to WinAmp’s than VLC’s or other video players, making it appealing to individuals with extensive multimedia collections. It also has highly fine-grained customization possibilities.
Features: Free, Proprietary, Mac, Windows, Android, iPhone, Android Tablet, iPad.
Media Player: Audio Player, Supports H265 Codec, Support for 4K, Hardware Accelerated.
11. MPlayer
MPlayer is a movie player that is available for various operating systems (see the documentation).
It supports various native, XAnim, and Win32 DLL codecs and plays most MPEG/VOB, AVI, Ogg/OGM, VIVO, ASF/WMA/WMV, QT/MOV/MP4, RealMedia, Matroska, NUT, NuppelVideo, FLI, YUV4MPEG, FILM, RoQ, PVA files. Also check mp4 to mp3 converters.
Features: Free, Open Source, Mac, Windows, Linux, BSD, AmigaOS, Xfce.
Media Player: Command-line interface, Integrated Codecs.
12. GOM Player
GOM Player is a media player that is available for free. The ability to play the majority of media files without the need for a codec and the ability to play some damaged media files are key benefits over traditional players such as Windows Media Player.
Its effects are easy to utilize, and it includes a large number of Preferences; BE AWARE, they have a separate music player. I have both of them. The reverb is strong. You may prevent the crapware by doing the first download from Ninite and only upgrading or by performing a custom setup. GOM, to the best of my knowledge, does not record.
Features: Freemium, Proprietary, Mac, Windows, Android, iPhone, Android Tablet, iPad.
Media Player: Skinnable, Lightweight, Support for subtitles, Playback speed control.
13. Quod Libet
Quod Libet is a Python-based Gapless GTK+ audio player. It is based on the assumption that you know how to organize your music better than we do. It enables you to create playlists based on regular expressions (don’t worry, common searches work too).
Features: Free, Open Source, Mac, Windows, Linux, Debian, Xfce
Audio Player: Media Player, Library Manager, Extensible by Plugins/Extensions, Tagging, Customization, Media library, Waveform seekbar, Library management, Audio playback.
14. DeaDBeeF
DeaDBeeF is a lightweight graphical music player designed for convenient listening and playlist management. It includes an 18-band equalizer, major audio codecs and tags, global hotkeys, gapless playback, streaming audio, command line control, and support for major audio codecs and tags. It is among the best VLC alternatives for Mac, Windows, Linux.
Features: Free, Open Source, Mac, Windows, Linux, BSD, KDE, Cinnamon, GNOME, MATE, Xfce.
Audio Player: Audio Converter, Lightweight, Fully customizable interface, Tabs, Extensible by Plugins/Extensions, Equalizer, Playlists management, Support for Hotkey.
15. Windows Media Player
All recent Windows versions (7 and above) come with the following media player pre-installed: Windows Media Player 12 supports more music and video than ever before, including Flip Video and unprotected iTunes tunes!
Features: Free, Proprietary, Windows.
Media Player: Audio Player, CD Ripper, Bundled with Windows, Voice pitch visualization.
16. MPlayerX
MPlayerX is an open-source project that strives to be the most powerful, elegant, and user-friendly multimedia player available for Mac OS X. It is fortified with FFmpeg. As a result, Mac’s the greatest media player; it works as a native Mac tool, has the same gorgeous interface as QuickTime, and supports a wide range of video formats; I suggest MPlayerX!
Features: Free, Open Source, Mac, MPlayer.
Media Player: macOS-like, MultiTouch, Support for Multiple Monitors.
17. QuickTime Player
View online videos, HD movie trailers, and personal media clips. Whether on the web or your desktop, QuickTime Player brilliantly brings your digital media to life.
Features: Free, Proprietary, Mac.
Media Player: Screen Recorder, Audio Recorder, Record videos.
18. Infuse
Infuse — the elegant way to watch practically any video format on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV – will ignite your video content. There is no need to convert files! With robust streaming options, trakt sync, and unparalleled AirPlay and subtitle compatibility, Infuse is designed for iOS 12.
Features: Freemium, Proprietary, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV.
Media Server: Media Center, Vast format support, Metadata Search, Support for DLNA.
19. JetAudio
JetAudio is a single compact rack of integrated multimedia software. It plays various music and video files, but it also offers capabilities like CD burning, recording, and file conversion to other formats.
Features: Freemium, Proprietary, Windows, Android, iPhone.
Media Player: CD Ripper, Audio Converter, Equalizer.
20. DivX
DivX pioneered the digital video experience, with over 1 billion DivX Software downloads and more than 1.5 billion devices licensed for DivX playing.
Play DivX, AVI, MKV, and HEVC files in up to 4K quality. Also check, The best MKV media players for Windows 10.
Features: Freemium, Proprietary, Mac, Windows.
Media Player: Audio Player, Support for subtitles.
So, hope you have selected your best VLC alternatives for Windows, Mac and Linux. There are many other VLC alternatives like CyberLink PowerDVD, aTunes , JRiver Media Center, Guayadeque, Sayonara Player, QMPlay2, ExMplayer and so on. Share your favorite one with us in the comments section and also share this article with your friends.
