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 SMPlayer.

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Alternatives list

  1. VLC Media Player icon

    VLC Media Player

     7819 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.

    188 VLC Media Player alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Windows Mobile
    • 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
    • Xbox
    VLC Media Player screenshot 1
     
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    9
    VLC Media Player vs Windows Media Player Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Rasheed AZ
    6

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

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    21

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

    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.

    3 of 9 comments
    • VLC Media Player is Free and Open SourceWindows Media Player is Free and Proprietary
    • VLC Media Player is a Media Player Windows Media Player is an Audio Player
    • VLC Media Player is Customizable, Decentralized and Privacy focusedWindows Media Player is not according to our users
  2. MPC-HC icon

    MPC-HC

     1328 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.

    155 MPC-HC alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

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

    MPV

     585 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.

    125 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

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

    Clementine

     763 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.

    266 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
  7. SMPlayer icon

    SMPlayer

     465 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.

    139 SMPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

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

    Audacious

     306 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.

    148 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.

    • Audacious is Free and Open SourceWindows Media Player is Free and Proprietary
  9. Strawberry icon

    Strawberry

     250 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.

    251 Strawberry alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • Mac
    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

    • 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 icon

    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...

    141 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

     186 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...

    131 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 a Media Player Windows Media Player is an Audio Player
    • MPC-BE is CustomizableWindows Media Player is not according to our users
  13. Amarok icon

    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.

    180 Amarok alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

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

    LLPlayer

     28 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.

    72 LLPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    LLPlayer screenshot 1
     
12 of 112 Windows Media Player alternatives