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

Alternatives list

1. 

   

   VLC Media Player

    7767 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.

   172 VLC Media Player alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-2.0)

   Application types

   • Media Player
   • Audio Player

   Origin

   • France
   • EU

   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

   

   

   

   +4

   

   More about VLC Media Player  

   

   Is VLC Media Player a good alternative to Windows Media Player?

    

   |

   9comments

   Expand

   VLC Media Player vs Windows Media Player Comments

    

   Top Positive Comment

   Rasheed AZ

   Jul 30, 2018

   6

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

   Top Negative Comment

   Guest

   Jun 21, 2015

   21

   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 comment•May 6, 2023

   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

   

   

   • VLC Media Player is Free and Open SourceWindows Media Player is Free and Proprietary
   • VLC Media Player is Customizable, Decentralized and Privacy focusedWindows Media Player is not according to our users
2. 

   

   MPC-HC

    1319 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.

   144 MPC-HC alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

   Application types

   • Media Player
   • Audio Player

   Origin

   • Poland
   • EU

   Platforms

   • Windows
   • PortableApps.com

   

   

   

   +5

   

   More about MPC-HC  

   

   Is MPC-HC a good alternative to Windows Media Player?

    
4. 

   

   MPV

    573 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.

   120 MPV alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source

   Application types

   • Media Player
   • Audio Player

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • Android
   • BSD
   • Snapcraft
   • Flathub
   • F-Droid
   • Haiku
   • Xfce
   • Chocolatey

   

   

   

   More about MPV  

   

   Is MPV a good alternative to Windows Media Player?

    

   |

   1comment

   Expand

   MPV vs Windows Media Player Comments

    

   Guest

   Positive comment•Jul 14, 2017

   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

    760 likes

   Free cross-platform audio player and library organizer featuring support for local files, internet radio, smart and dynamic playlists, playlist import/export, projectM visualizations, lyrics, artist info, album art, tag editing, transcoding, device sync, and remote control.

   252 Clementine alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

   Application types

   • Audio Player
   • Media Player

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • BSD
   • Haiku

   

   

   

   More about Clementine  

   

   Is Clementine a good alternative to Windows Media Player?

    

   |

   1comment

   Expand

   Clementine vs Windows Media Player Comments

    

   154pinkchairs

   Positive comment•Jul 29, 2021

   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. 

   

   SMPlayer

    463 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.

   130 SMPlayer alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-2.0)

   Application types

   • Media Player
   • Audio Player

   Origin

   • Spain
   • EU

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • BSD
   • mpv
   • Snapcraft
   • PortableApps.com
   • Haiku
   • MPlayer
   • Flathub
   • Homebrew

   

   

   

   +4

   

   More about SMPlayer  

   

   Is SMPlayer a good alternative to Windows Media Player?

    
7. 

   

   Audacious

    304 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.

   137 Audacious alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source

   Application types

   • Audio Player
   • Media Player

   Origin

   • International

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • BSD
   • Haiku
   • Xfce

   

   More about Audacious  

   

   Is Audacious a good alternative to Windows Media Player?

    

   |

   1comment

   Expand

   Audacious vs Windows Media Player Comments

    

   Guest

   Negative comment•Jan 8, 2019

   -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
9. 

   

   Strawberry

    248 likes

   Music player and collection organizer featuring support for diverse audio formats, bit-perfect playback, playlist management, tag editing, advanced output controls, streaming from Subsonic, Tidal, Qobuz, scrobbling, CD playback, and cover art retrieval.

   243 Strawberry alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Freemium
   • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

   Application types

   • Audio Player
   • Media Player

   Origin

   • Norway

   Platforms

   • Windows
   • Linux
   • BSD
   • Haiku
   • Mac

   

   

   

   More about Strawberry  

   

   Is Strawberry a good alternative to Windows Media Player?

    

   |

   2comments

   Expand

   Strawberry vs Windows Media Player Comments

    

   zokris

   Positive comment•Dec 2, 2021

   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 comment•Sep 11, 2024

   0

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

   Review by a new / low-activity user.

   

   

   • Strawberry is Freemium and Open SourceWindows Media Player is Free and Proprietary
   • Strawberry is Customizable and Privacy focusedWindows Media Player is not according to our users
10. 

    

    Media Player Classic

     764 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...

    132 Media Player Classic alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    • Media Player

    Origin

    • Hungary
    • EU

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows

    

    More about Media Player Classic  

    

    Is Media Player Classic a good alternative to Windows Media Player?

     
11. 

    

    Rhythmbox

     436 likes

    Rhythmbox is an audio player for Linux that plays and organizes digital music. Inspired by Apple's iTunes, it is free software that is designed to work well under the .

    156 Rhythmbox alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-2.0)

    Application types

    • Audio Player
    • Internet Radio

    Origin

    • United States

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • GNOME

    

    

    

    +2

    

    More about Rhythmbox  

    

    Is Rhythmbox a good alternative to Windows Media Player?

     
12. 

    

    MPC-BE

     184 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...

    119 MPC-BE alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

    Application types

    • Media Player
    • Audio Player

    Origin

    • Russia

    Platforms

    • Windows

    

    

    

    +2

    

    More about MPC-BE  

    

    Is MPC-BE a good alternative to Windows Media Player?

     

    |

    1comment

    Expand

    MPC-BE vs Windows Media Player Comments

     

    banija

    Positive comment•Sep 16, 2024

    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
13. 

    

    Amarok

     411 likes

    Cross-platform music player featuring customizable interface, dynamic playlists, powerful tagging and sorting, contextual views, drag-and-drop menus, robust file tracking, language localization, bookmarking, database importing, script support, and audio CD playback.

    171 Amarok alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (LGPL-2.1)

    Application types

    • Audio Player
    • Media Player

    Origin

    • Germany
    • EU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
    • Flatpak

    

    

    More about Amarok  

    

    Is Amarok a good alternative to Windows Media Player?

     
14. 

    

    LLPlayer

     25 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.

    66 LLPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

    Application type

    • Media Player

    Platforms

    • Windows

    

    

    

    +2

    

    More about LLPlayer  

    

    Is LLPlayer a good alternative to Windows Media Player?