VLC media player
Open Sourceby VideoLAN
Plays virtually any media file, on any platform, with no codec packs.
- Plays almost every audio and video format
- No external codecs required
- Streams network and online media
Free alternatives to Kodi
4 media players programs worth considering instead of — or alongside — Kodi.
Alternatives to Kodi
mpv
Open Sourceby mpv developers
Minimalist, keyboard-driven, very high quality video player.
- High-quality GPU video output
- Minimal, distraction-free interface
- Highly scriptable and configurable
foobar2000
Freeby Peter Pawlowski
Extremely lightweight, endlessly configurable audio player.
- Very low memory and CPU usage
- Powerful batch tagging and file conversion
- Fully customisable interface layout
MusicBee
Freeby Steven Mayall
Full-featured music manager for large local libraries.
- Automatic tag and artwork lookup
- Smart playlists and advanced library filtering
- Built-in equaliser and audio effects
About Kodi
Kodi organises your movies, TV shows, music and photos into a polished ten-foot interface designed for a television and a remote control, automatically fetching artwork and metadata for your library.
It is open source and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android. Below are 4 media players programs that cover the same ground — some open-source, some cross-platform, each free to use.
Kodi alternatives compared
| Program | Licence | Platforms | Best known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| VLC media player | Open Source | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS | Plays almost every audio and video format |
| mpv | Open Source | Windows, macOS, Linux | High-quality GPU video output |
| foobar2000 | Free | Windows, macOS | Very low memory and CPU usage |
| MusicBee | Free | Windows | Automatic tag and artwork lookup |
The alternatives in detail
VLC media player Open Source
VLC is the universal media player: it plays essentially every audio and video format in existence with its codecs built in, so you never install a codec pack again. Notable for plays almost every audio and video format and no external codecs required. Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS.
mpv Open Source
mpv is a deliberately minimal player with no visible interface clutter, offering excellent video output quality, GPU-accelerated rendering and extensive scripting. Notable for high-quality gpu video output and minimal, distraction-free interface. Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
foobar2000 Free
foobar2000 is a famously efficient audio player favoured by people with large, carefully tagged music libraries. Notable for very low memory and cpu usage and powerful batch tagging and file conversion. Runs on Windows, macOS.
MusicBee Free
MusicBee is a complete music library manager with automatic tagging, smart playlists, a built-in equaliser and device synchronisation. Notable for automatic tag and artwork lookup and smart playlists and advanced library filtering. Runs on Windows.
How to choose
2 are fully open source (VLC media player, mpv) — pick one of these if you value auditable code you can self-host. For the widest platform coverage, VLC media player, mpv run on three or more operating systems. On a Mac, VLC media player, mpv, foobar2000 support macOS natively.
All 4 are free to download from the publisher's own website, so installing two or three and testing them on your own files is the fastest way to decide — it costs nothing but a few minutes.