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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Alternatives list

  1. VLC Media Player icon

    VLC Media Player

     7721 likes

    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.

    170 VLC Media Player alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • HUAWEI AppGallery
    • iPad
    • AppImageHub
    • Apple Watch
    • Snapcraft
    • Google Chrome
    • Apple TV
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • F-Droid
    • Kindle Fire
    • Haiku
    • Android TV
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    VLC Media Player screenshot 1
     
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    9
    VLC Media Player vs Windows Media Player Comments
    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.
    3 of 9 comments
    • 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

     1314 likes

    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.

    142 MPC-HC alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

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

    MPV

     558 likes

    Versatile audio and video player featuring support for a wide range of formats, audio and video codecs, subtitle types, hardware acceleration via GPU, OpenGL output with high-quality scaling, on-screen controls, and embeddable C API for integration into applications.

    116 MPV alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Haiku
    • Xfce
    • Chocolatey
    MPV screenshot 1
     
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    1
    MPV vs Windows Media Player Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    5

    MPV is an open source and professional project

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • 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

     756 likes

    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...

    253 Clementine alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    Clementine with lyrics pane
     
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    1
    Clementine vs Windows Media Player Comments
    154pinkchairs
    Positive
    0

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

    • 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

    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

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Warning

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    Strawberry screenshot 1
     
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    2
    Strawberry vs Windows Media Player Comments
    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.
    • 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

     460 likes

    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.

    131 SMPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

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

    Audacious

     301 likes

    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.

    136 Audacious alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • Xfce
    Audacious screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Audacious vs Windows Media Player Comments
    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.
    • Audacious is Free and Open SourceWindows Media Player is Free and Proprietary
  10. Media Player Classic icon

    Media Player Classic

     762 likes

    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
     
  11. MPC-BE icon

    MPC-BE

     182 likes

    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...

    120 MPC-BE alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    MPC-BE screenshot 1
     
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    1
    MPC-BE vs Windows Media Player Comments
    banija
    Positive
    0

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

    • 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

     411 likes

    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.

    169 Amarok alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

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

    LLPlayer

     23 likes

    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.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    LLPlayer screenshot 1
     
12 of 104 Windows Media Player alternatives