MPC-HC Alternatives for Linux

Alternatives list

1. 

   

   VLC Media Player

    7745 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

   • 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 MPC-HC?

    

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   VLC Media Player vs MPC-HC Comments

    

   Top Positive Comment

   Guest

   Mar 14, 2020

   3

   It's one alternative, not the best, MPC-HC is very very fast and simple , it's a shame that doesn't exist a very MPC-HC equivalent app in Linux comunity.

   Review by a new / low-activity user.

   Top Negative Comment

   Guest

   Mar 13, 2017

   18

   It's all about the functionality while playing, the capability in adjusting the control keys and the skip times configuration.

   Yeah, it can be personalized and the wide of the compatible video and audio formats is almost equal, yet VLC is still no capable of being personalized in the important thing to me.

   Review by a new / low-activity user.

   Stefano

   Negative comment•Jan 6, 2023

   0

   For me I could not play 4k videos on VLC, no matter of the settings, I was using the latest version but nothing. With MPC-HC I could play 4k out of the box.

   Show more comments

   3 of 8 comments

   

   

   • VLC Media Player is Free and Open SourceMPC-HC is also Free and Open Source
   • VLC Media Player is Customizable and DecentralizedMPC-HC is not according to our users
2. 

   

   MPV

    566 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.

   117 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

   

   

   

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   Is MPV a good alternative to MPC-HC?

    

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   4comments

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   MPV vs MPC-HC Comments

    

   zlelmefs

   Negative comment•Jul 23, 2022

   3

   A minamalist GUI is not a positive trait, especially for a media player. The appropriate amount of command line usage for an everyday application in 2022 is zero.

   Guest

   Positive comment•Jul 5, 2018

   6

   • Plays all video files
   • Has a simple and uncluttered GUI
   • Easy on the CPU and battery

   • A bit harder to set up than other media players

   Review by a new / low-activity user.

   papatheodorou

   Positive comment•May 22, 2021

   -1

   Ultra lightweight, minimal interface, borderless / frameless if desired.

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   3 of 4 comments

   

   

   • MPV is Free and Open SourceMPC-HC is also Free and Open Source
   • MPV is MinimalisticMPC-HC is not according to our users
4. 

   

   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.

   128 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

   

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   SMPlayer vs MPC-HC Comments

    

   aseixas

   Positive comment•Apr 16, 2017

   7

   Very similar to MPC-HC in terms of features, and very customisable as well, even though it's lightweight all the same. Includes one of my favourite features from MPC-HC which is the subtitle search and download feature for the video file you're watching.

   shorter

   Positive comment•Jul 26, 2025

   0

   SMPlayer is highly customizable, you can make it looks like MPC and has support for hash subtitle download, you can set the keyboard shortcuts to match mpc as well. My go to alternative to mpc on linux.

   Review by a new / low-activity user.

   Guest

   Negative comment•Jun 2, 2016

   -1

   SMPlayer lacks the features and the feel of MPC-HC

   Review by a new / low-activity user.

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   3 of 4 comments

   

   

   • SMPlayer is Free and Open SourceMPC-HC is also Free and Open Source
   • SMPlayer is CustomizableMPC-HC is not according to our users
5. 

   

   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.

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source

   Application types

   • Media Player
   • Audio Player

   Origin

   • Hungary
   • EU

   Alerts

   • Discontinued

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • BSD
   • AmigaOS
   • Xfce
   • MorphOS
   • Haiku

   

   More about MPlayer  

   

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6. 

   

   Celluloid

    50 likes

   Celluloid (formerly GNOME MPV) is a simple GTK+ frontend for mpv. Celluloid interacts with mpv via the client API exported by libmpv, allowing access to mpv's powerful playback capabilities.

   62 Celluloid alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

   Application types

   • Media Player
   • Audio Player

   Platforms

   • Linux
   • mpv
   • Snapcraft
   • Flathub
   • Flatpak

   

   

   

   +1

   

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7. 

   

   Haruna

    26 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.

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

   Application types

   • Media Player
   • Audio Player

   Origin

   • Germany
   • EU

   Platforms

   • Windows
   • Linux
   • KDE Plasma
   • mpv
   • Snapcraft
   • Flathub
   • Flatpak

   

   

   

   +1

   

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9. 

   

   Harmonoid

    33 likes

   🎵 Plays & manages your music library. Looks beautiful & juicy. Playlists, visuals, synced lyrics, pitch shift, volume boost & more.

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source

   Application types

   • Audio Player
   • Media Player

   Platforms

   • Windows
   • Linux
   • Android
   • Mac

   

   

   

   +3

   

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10. 

    

    QMPlay2

     13 likes

    QMPlay2 is a video and audio player. It can play all formats supported by FFmpeg, libmodplug (including J2B and SFX). It also supports Audio CD, raw files, Rayman 2 music and chiptunes. It contains YouTube and Prostopleer browser.

    151 QMPlay2 alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (LGPL-3.0)

    Application types

    • Media Player
    • Audio Player

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Haiku

    

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11. 

    

    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.

    51 Clapper alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

    Application type

    • Media Player

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • GNOME

    

    

    

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12. 

    

    Showtime Player

     6 likes

    Play your favorite movies and video files without hassle. Showtime features simple playback controls that fade out of your way when you're watching, fullscreen, adjustable playback speed, multiple language and subtitle tracks, and screenshots — everything you need for a...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

    Application type

    • Media Player

    Origin

    • United States

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
    • Flatpak

    

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13. 

    

    UMPlayer

     109 likes

    UMPlayer is a movie player which runs on many systems. 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.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    • Media Player

    Origin

    • Israel

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD

    

    

    

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14. 

    

    bomi

     26 likes

    bomi is a multimedia player aiming for easy usage but also providing various powerful features and convenience functions

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    • Media Player

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • mpv

    

    More about bomi  

    

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