The Best Open Source Windows Media Player AlternativesTop Audio & Media Players like Windows Media Player

The best open source alternative to Windows Media Player is VLC Media Player. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Windows Media Player and loads of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Windows Media Player are MPC-HC, MPV, Clementine and Strawberry.

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Windows Media Player alternatives are mainly Media Players, but if you're looking for Audio Players or Internet Radio Services you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Windows, Linux, Android Tablet, iPhone, Kindle Fire, Android and Open Source. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Windows Media Player.
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Alternatives list

  1. VLC Media Player icon

    VLC Media Player

     7692 likes
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    Enjoy seamless media experiences with this cross-platform, ad-free player supporting multimedia files, DVDs, streaming, Chromecast, 4K, and no tracking. Customize with themes, play offline, and get privacy-focused service without registration. Fully extensible by plugins.

    166 VLC Media Player alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • iPad
    • AppImageHub
    • Apple Watch
    • Snapcraft
    • Google Chrome
    • Apple TV
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • F-Droid
    • Kindle Fire
    • Haiku
    • Android TV
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    • HUAWEI AppGallery
    VLC Media Player screenshot 1
     
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    9
    134
    Comments about VLC Media Player as an Alternative to Windows Media Player
    Top Positive Comment
    Rasheed AZ
    5

    Can actually play most media files and actually fulfil its purpose unlike wmp

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    20

    VLC, while an awesome media player, lacks WMP's library features. Thus, it is not an all-in-one system like WMP is.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    tpc1095
    Positive
    1

    Not an alternative to Windows Media Player at all because the main function of WMP is to organize song tracks into albums by artist. Just playing a file isn't a big deal.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Show more comments
    3 of 9 comments
    Windows Media Player Icon
    VLC Media Player icon

    • Most users think VLC Media Player is a great Windows Media Player alternative.

    • VLC Media Player is the most popular Windows, Android, Mac & iPhone alternative to Windows Media Player.

    • VLC Media Player is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Windows Media Player.

    • VLC Media Player is Free and Open SourceWindows Media Player is Free and Proprietary
    • VLC Media Player is Customizable and Privacy focusedWindows Media Player is not according to our users
  2. MPC-HC icon

    MPC-HC

     1309 likes
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    A lightweight open-source media player for Windows, giving support for all video/audio formats. It boasts no ads, dark themes, codec support, and seamless YouTube playback. Developed by longtime contributors, it's mature software with community improvements and crash fixes.

    140 MPC-HC alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    MPC-HC screenshot 1
     
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    46
  4. MPV icon

    MPV

     550 likes
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    MPV is an audio and movie player based on MPlayer and mplayer2. It supports a wide variety of video file formats, audio and video codecs, and subtitle types.

    113 MPV alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    • F-Droid
    • Haiku
    • Xfce
    • Chocolatey
    • Flathub
    • Snapcraft
    MPV screenshot 1
     
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    1
    10
    Comments about MPV as an Alternative to Windows Media Player
    Guest
    Positive
    5

    MPV is an open source and professional project

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Windows Media Player Icon
    MPV icon

    • Most users think MPV is a great Windows Media Player alternative.

    • MPV is Free and Open SourceWindows Media Player is Free and Proprietary
    • MPV is Minimalistic and Privacy focusedWindows Media Player is not according to our users
  5. Clementine icon

    Clementine

     752 likes
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    Clementine is a cross-platform free and open source music player and library organizer. It is a port of Amarok 1.4 to the Qt 4 framework and the GStreamer multimedia framework, focusing on a fast and easy-to-use interface for searching and...

    250 Clementine alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    Clementine with lyrics pane
     
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    1
    19
    Comments about Clementine as an Alternative to Windows Media Player
    154pinkchairs
    Positive
    0

    one of the greatest FOSS players, but tbh I prefer quodLibet since it's more lightweight

    Windows Media Player Icon
    Clementine icon

    • Most users think Clementine is a great Windows Media Player alternative.

    • Clementine is Free and Open SourceWindows Media Player is Free and Proprietary
    • Clementine is Privacy focusedWindows Media Player is not according to our users
  6. Strawberry icon

    Strawberry

     249 likes
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    Strawberry is a music player and music collection organizer. It is a fork of Clementine released in 2018 aimed at music collectors and audiophiles. The name is inspired by the band Strawbs. It's written in C++ using the Qt framework.

    242 Strawberry alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Warning

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    Strawberry screenshot 1
     
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    2
    13
    Comments about Strawberry as an Alternative to Windows Media Player
    zokris
    Positive
    1

    Unlike VLC, Strawberry is not a "file player" but a complete management software for your music collection. Very convenient UI, can rip CDs, gives you the choice of encoders/decoders, ...

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Strawberry is very good option to play CDs extract them, organize and many more

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Windows Media Player Icon
    Strawberry icon

    • Most users think Strawberry is a great Windows Media Player alternative.

    • Strawberry is Free and Open SourceWindows Media Player is Free and Proprietary
    • Strawberry is Customizable and Privacy focusedWindows Media Player is not according to our users
  7. SMPlayer icon

    SMPlayer

     457 likes
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    SMPlayer intends to be a complete front-end for MPlayer, from basic features like playing videos, DVDs, and VCDs to more advanced features like support for MPlayer filters and more. SMPlayer remembers the settings of all files you play.

    130 SMPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • mpv
    • Snapcraft
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • MPlayer
    • Flathub
    • Homebrew
    Playing video - Default Skin
     
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    6
  9. Audacious icon

    Audacious

     299 likes
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    Lightweight open-source audio player for Unix-like platforms focused on high sound quality, extensive codec support, playlist handling, Internet radio, plugins, Winamp-style skins, cue sheets, metadata display, effects, equalizer, and efficient resource usage.

    133 Audacious alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • Xfce
    Audacious screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Comments about Audacious as an Alternative to Windows Media Player
    Guest
    Negative
    -3

    Windows Media Player is not Light Weight and audacious is light weight and only an Audio player. Win Media Player is Multimedia Player/RIpper with library functions.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Windows Media Player Icon
    Audacious icon
    • Audacious is Free and Open SourceWindows Media Player is Free and Proprietary
  10. Media Player Classic icon

    Media Player Classic

     761 likes
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    Media Player Classic was designed to look just like Windows Media Player 6.4, but with many additional new features. It has a built in DVD player with real-time zoom, support for AVI subtitles, QuickTime and RealVideo support and built-in...

    134 Media Player Classic alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Media Player Classic screenshot 1
     
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    14
  11. MPC-BE icon

    MPC-BE

     182 likes
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    Media Player Classic - Black Edition (MPC-BE) is a fork of MPC and MPC-HC. It moved away from MPC's aim to mimic the look and feel of Windows Media Player with updated player controls and provides additional features on top of MPC-HC such as a video preview tooltip when...

    118 MPC-BE alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    MPC-BE screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Comments about MPC-BE as an Alternative to Windows Media Player
    banija
    Positive
    0

    we can hold mouse and drag to move video player window to anywhere not like VLC

    Windows Media Player Icon
    MPC-BE icon

    • Most users think MPC-BE is a great Windows Media Player alternative.

    • MPC-BE is Free and Open SourceWindows Media Player is Free and Proprietary
    • MPC-BE is CustomizableWindows Media Player is not according to our users
  12. Amarok icon

    Amarok

     410 likes
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    Amarok is a powerful music player with an intuitive interface. It makes playing the music you love and discovering new music easier than ever before — and it looks good doing it.

    166 Amarok alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
    • Flatpak
    Overview
     
  14. LLPlayer icon

    LLPlayer

     20 likes
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    A media player to enhance your language skills with dual and AI-generated subtitles powered by OpenAI Whisper. Real-time OCR, translation with Google/DeepL, and word lookup boost learning. Supports 134 languages, fully customizable shortcuts, and it's free & open-source.

    61 LLPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    LLPlayer screenshot 1
     
12 of 103 Windows Media Player alternatives