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
Free alternatives to VLC media player
4 media players programs worth considering instead of — or alongside — VLC media player.
Alternatives to VLC media player
Kodi
Open Sourceby XBMC Foundation
Turn any computer into a full home-theatre media centre.
- Full-screen home-theatre interface
- Automatic artwork and metadata scraping
- Remote control and mobile app support
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 VLC media player
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. It also handles network streams, DVDs, incomplete downloads and basic conversion.
It is open source and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS. Below are 4 media players programs that cover the same ground — some open-source, some cross-platform, each free to use.
VLC media player alternatives compared
| Program | Licence | Platforms | Best known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| mpv | Open Source | Windows, macOS, Linux | High-quality GPU video output |
| Kodi | Open Source | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android | Full-screen home-theatre interface |
| foobar2000 | Free | Windows, macOS | Very low memory and CPU usage |
| MusicBee | Free | Windows | Automatic tag and artwork lookup |
The alternatives in detail
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.
Kodi Open Source
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. Notable for full-screen home-theatre interface and automatic artwork and metadata scraping. Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android.
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 (mpv, Kodi) — pick one of these if you value auditable code you can self-host. For the widest platform coverage, mpv, Kodi run on three or more operating systems. On a Mac, mpv, Kodi, 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.