Open Source VLC Media Player Alternatives for Windows

There are many alternatives to VLC Media Player for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best open source Windows alternative is MPC-HC. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to VLC Media Player and many of them are open source and available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Windows alternatives to VLC Media Player are MPV, SMPlayer, MPC-BE and Media Player Classic.

filter to find the best alternatives

VLC Media Player alternatives are mainly Media Players, but if you're looking for Audio Players or Image Viewers you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Android, Linux, Open Source, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android + Open Source. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to VLC Media Player.
More about VLC Media Player
Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard
VLC Media Player alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. MPC-HC icon

    MPC-HC

     1309 likes

    MPC-HC's biggest advantage is arguably just how lightweight it is. Not only is it small in terms of hard drive space, but its CPU and overall system resource use is incredibly small compared to other video players, VLC included.

    140 MPC-HC alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    MPC-HC screenshot 1
     
    |
    22
    576
    Comments about MPC-HC as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    Comment summary: MPC-HC is highly praised as a lightweight and superior alternative to VLC Media Player. Users commend its efficient performance, especially in handling subtitles and various formats like .mkv and HEVC, without the need for external codecs. Its interface is noted for being clean and user-friendly, although less customizable than VLC's. MPC-HC is appreciated for better streaming, compatibility with modern codecs, and seamless playback on less stable networks, making it the go-to choice over VLC for many users.
    Top Positive Comment
    Paul Karpo
    11

    Very light-weight. With super easy interface and without any bugs.

    Top Negative Comment
    AikkabBasH
    0

    MPC-HC is not under active development since 2017 and therefore there is no downloads available of this application on their official website.

    veddev
    Positive
    0

    Its light-weight, included with the K-Lite codec pack... so awesome media player!

    3 of 22 comments
    VLC Media Player Icon
    MPC-HC icon

    • Almost everyone thinks MPC-HC is a great VLC Media Player alternative.

    • MPC-HC is the most popular Windows alternative to VLC Media Player.

    • MPC-HC is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to VLC Media Player.

    • MPC-HC is Free and Open SourceVLC Media Player is also Free and Open Source
    • MPC-HC is LightweightVLC Media Player is not according to our users
  2. MPV icon

    MPV

     550 likes

    MPV is an MPlayer-based video player that is available on all major desktop operating systems. Linux users in particular cite MPV as one of the best alternatives to VLC. Its interface is extremely minimal, though with that comes extraordinary stability.

    112 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
     
    |
    26
    320
    Comments about MPV as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    Comment summary: MPV is frequently praised as a lightweight, customizable, and reliable alternative to VLC Media Player. Users note that it handles AV1 encoded videos and other formats more smoothly, overcomes playback stuttering issues, and offers better battery usage. Its minimalistic design with practical shortcuts is favored, though some users miss a conventional UI. Despite VLC's established reputation, MPV is recognized for its strong performance on multiple platforms.
    Top Positive Comment
    John Fastman
    12

    There was a time when VLC was justifiably considered the best open-source cross-platform movie player. MPV has closed the gap substantially and is likely to work out-of-the-box in a minority of cases where VLC gets stuck. Excellent software. Open souce (trustworthy) and free, of course.

    Top Negative Comment
    Marek-Piekielnik
    0

    MPV on Windows is half baked (at best). No setup, no file associations, no hi-dpi interface.

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    In Linux, VLC sometime struggles playing MP4 videos & navigating within those MP4 videos. Celluloid (MPV frontend) works better in these regards.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 26 comments
    VLC Media Player Icon
    MPV icon

    • Almost everyone thinks MPV is a great VLC Media Player alternative.

    • MPV is the most popular Android, Mac & Linux alternative to VLC Media Player.

    • MPV is Free and Open SourceVLC Media Player is also Free and Open Source
    • MPV is Lightweight and MinimalisticVLC Media Player is not according to our users
  4. SMPlayer icon

    SMPlayer

     457 likes

    Like MPV, SMPlayer is based off of MPlayer, but unlike MPV, it's more focused on accessibility with its user interface. Out of the box, users cite SMPlayer as having the versatility and stability of MPV with the ease of use of players like VLC. It also supports add-ons such as a YouTube search.

    129 SMPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • mpv
    • Snapcraft
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • MPlayer
    • Flathub
    • Homebrew
    Playing video - Default Skin
     
    |
    18
    189
    Comments about SMPlayer as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    Comment summary: Comments highlight SMPlayer's advantages over VLC Media Player, emphasizing ease of use, customization, and versatility. Users appreciate its ability to sync settings across devices, intuitive GUI, and handling of subtitles and incomplete files better than VLC. While generally viewed as superior, a concern over stability on Windows is noted. SMPlayer is praised for being resource-efficient, supporting diverse video files, and providing enhanced playback quality.
    Top Positive Comment
    Armin
    3

    It has beautiful skins and is suitable for weak systems.

    Mayank-Arora
    Positive
    1

    I have stopped using VLC, since I came across SMPlayer. It works seamlessly on all my devices. I once made keyboard shortcuts, and saved it on cloud. Now, it is very easy to copy that file and have same settings and same shortcuts across all devices. For me, this is better than VLC media player and it is so easy to set aspect ratio, increase and decrease volume, manage video speeds and sync audio/subtitles.

    Guest
    Positive
    3

    It is the best mpv frontend in my opinion. having such powerful media player engine such as mpv + a user friendly ui. built-in subtitle search engine makes you like a lot easier too.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 18 comments
    VLC Media Player Icon
    SMPlayer icon

    • Almost everyone thinks SMPlayer is a great VLC Media Player alternative.

    • SMPlayer is Free and Open SourceVLC Media Player is also Free and Open Source
    • SMPlayer is LightweightVLC Media Player is not according to our users
  5. MPC-BE icon

    MPC-BE

     182 likes

    MPC-BE is another fork of Media Player Classic (specifically of the Home Cinema fork) with a focus on bug fixes and for automatically mounting ISO images. It is actively updated and performs really well for video playback. Users do not recommend it for music playback, as it lacks support for playlist looping and includes odd behaviors for shuffling media playback.

    118 MPC-BE alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    MPC-BE screenshot 1
     
    |
    2
    70
    Comments about MPC-BE as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    Guest
    Positive
    -1

    thumbnail view, available on MS store

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    rapheal dowry
    Positive
    -2

    I haven't tried it until now but will try it soon and will update the reviews too.

    thanks!

    VLC Media Player Icon
    MPC-BE icon

    • Almost everyone thinks MPC-BE is a great VLC Media Player alternative.

    • MPC-BE is Free and Open SourceVLC Media Player is also Free and Open Source
    • MPC-BE is LightweightVLC Media Player is not according to our users
  6. Media Player Classic icon

    Media Player Classic

     761 likes

    Though it's been discontinued and almost entirely superseded by successors like Media Player Classic Home Cinema, some users still swear by it as a sort of "old reliable" video player that can play most files people throw at it with no issue. However, it's been 10 years since its last release, so it's highly recommended to look at MPC-HC and other forks actively in development.

    133 Media Player Classic alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Media Player Classic screenshot 1
     
    |
    1
    71
    Comments about Media Player Classic as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    Guest
    Negative
    4

    It doesn't feature an online streamer...

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    VLC Media Player Icon
    Media Player Classic icon

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

    • Media Player Classic is Free and Open SourceVLC Media Player is also Free and Open Source
  7. MPlayer icon

    MPlayer

     341 likes

    MPlayer is a movie player which runs on many systems (see the documentation). It plays most MPEG/VOB, AVI, Ogg/OGM, VIVO, ASF/WMA/WMV, QT/MOV/MP4, RealMedia, Matroska, NUT, NuppelVideo, FLI, YUV4MPEG, FILM, RoQ, PVA files, supported by many native, XAnim, and Win32 DLL codecs.

    133 MPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • AmigaOS
    • Xfce
    • MorphOS
    • Haiku
    MPlayer on Ubuntu (Linux)
     
    |
    2
    56
    Comments about MPlayer as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    Sam Lander
    Positive
    0

    Very lightweight, glitchless. MPlayer is probably the best media player currently on the market.

    Guest
    Positive
    1

    It read and play most media without any constraints.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    VLC Media Player Icon
    MPlayer icon

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

    • MPlayer is Free and Open SourceVLC Media Player is also Free and Open Source
    • MPlayer is LightweightVLC Media Player is not according to our users
  9. LLPlayer icon

    LLPlayer

     20 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.

    63 LLPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    LLPlayer screenshot 1
     
  10. Haruna icon

    Haruna

     24 likes

    Open source video player leveraging Qt/QML and libmpv, featuring dual subtitle support, customizable shortcuts, auto chapter skipping by keyword, YouTube and online video playback, integrated playlist overlay, dynamic navigation, and KDE ecosystem compatibility.

    41 Haruna alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • KDE Plasma
    • mpv
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Haruna screenshot 1
     
    |
    1
    Comments about Haruna as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    librevr
    Positive
    1

    Works much better than others on this list that I have tried. Has a pretty good clean and modern interface with shortcuts that make actions faster.

    VLC Media Player Icon
    Haruna icon
    • Haruna is Free and Open SourceVLC Media Player is also Free and Open Source
    • Haruna is LightweightVLC Media Player is not according to our users
  11. Screenbox icon

    Screenbox

     15 likes

    Screenbox is a modern video player that cares about performance and ease of use on a wide range of device types. It features a beautiful, friendly user interface while being fast and lightweight

    37 Screenbox alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Black and White Themes
     
    |
    1
    Comments about Screenbox as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    candroid_man
    Positive
    0

    Always hated Windows Media Player for a number of reasons, but VLC, MPC-HC, MPV, they all have terrible UI/UX for some reason! Screenbox is basically VLC with a Windows UI and it works great, and is exactly what I was looking for

    VLC Media Player Icon
    Screenbox icon
    • Screenbox is Free and Open SourceVLC Media Player is also Free and Open Source
    • Screenbox is LightweightVLC Media Player is not according to our users
  12. mpv.net icon

    mpv.net

     20 likes

    mpv.net is a modern media player for Windows. mpv is similar to VLC not based on DirectShow like MPC, mpv.net is based on libmpv which in return is based on ffmpeg.

    40 mpv.net alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • mpv
    mpv.net screenshot 1
     
  13. SPlayer icon

    SPlayer

     102 likes

    SPlayer is a player that supports all popular formats, including DVDRip, HDTV, RMVB, QuickTime, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AC3/DTS, VP3/6/7, Indeo, XVD, OGG / OGM, APE, FLAC, TTA, AAC, MPC, 3GP/AMR, and subtitles.

    119 SPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    SPlayer screenshot 1
     
    |
    7
  14. Clapper icon

    Clapper

     6 likes

    Clapper is a modern media player designed for simplicity and ease of use. Powered by GStreamer and built for the GNOME desktop environment using GTK4 toolkit, it has a clean and stylish interface that lets you focus on enjoying your favorite videos.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
    Windowed Mode
     
12 of 35 VLC Media Player alternatives