MPC-HC Alternatives for Linux

Alternatives list

1. 

   

   VLC Media Player

    7859 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.

   192 VLC Media Player alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-2.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Media Player
   • Audio Player

   Origin

   • France
   • EU

   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

   • France
   • EU

   

   

   

   +4

   

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   Good alternative?Is VLC Media Player a good alternative to MPC-HC?

    

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   9comments

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   VLC Media Player vs MPC-HC Comments

   Top Positive Comment by Guest · Mar 14, 2020

   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.

   Top Negative Comment by Guest · Mar 13, 2017

   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.

   Positive comment by Guest · May 31, 2026

   lightweight, easy to use, capable

   3 of 9 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

    587 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.

   126 MPV alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source

   Application typeApplication types

   • Media Player
   • Audio Player

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

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

   • United States

   

   

   

   More about MPV  

   

   Good alternative?Is MPV a good alternative to MPC-HC?

    

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   4comments

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   MPV vs MPC-HC Comments

   Negative comment by zlelmefs · Jul 23, 2022

   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.

   Positive comment by Guest · Jul 5, 2018

   • 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

   Positive comment by papatheodorou · May 22, 2021

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

   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

    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

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-2.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Media Player
   • Audio Player

   Origin

   • Spain
   • EU

   Platforms

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

   • Spain
   • EU

   

   

   

   +4

   

   More about SMPlayer  

   

   Good alternative?Is SMPlayer a good alternative to MPC-HC?

    

   |

   4comments

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   SMPlayer vs MPC-HC Comments

   Positive comment by aseixas · Apr 16, 2017

   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.

   Positive comment by shorter · Jul 26, 2025

   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.

   Negative comment by Guest · Jun 2, 2016

   SMPlayer lacks the features and the feel of MPC-HC

   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

    342 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.

   141 MPlayer alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source

   Application typeApplication types

   • Media Player
   • Audio Player

   Origin

   • Hungary
   • EU

   Alerts

   • Discontinued

   Platforms

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

   • Hungary
   • EU

   

   More about MPlayer  

   

   Good alternative?Is MPlayer a good alternative to MPC-HC?

    
6. 

   

   Haruna

    29 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 typeApplication types

   • Media Player
   • Audio Player

   Origin

   • Germany
   • EU

   Platforms

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

   • Germany
   • EU

   

   

   

   +1

   

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8. 

   

   Celluloid

    49 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.

   71 Celluloid alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Media Player
   • Audio Player

   Platforms

   • Linux
   • mpv
   • Snapcraft
   • Flathub
   • Flatpak
   • Linux Mobile

   

   

   

   +1

   

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   Good alternative?Is Celluloid a good alternative to MPC-HC?

    
9. 

   

   Harmonoid

    35 likes

   Material-based cross-platform player managing music libraries, playlists, and radio streams with synced and custom lyrics, tag editor, pitch, speed, and volume controls, Discord and Last.fm integration, light-dark themes, and low RAM usage for Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android.

   67 Harmonoid alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source

   Application typeApplication types

   • Audio Player
   • Media Player

   Origin

   • India

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • Android

   • India

   

   

   

   +3

   

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10. 

    

    Clapper

     7 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

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

    Application type

    • Media Player

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Linux Mobile
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
    • GTK

    

    

    

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11. 

    

    QMPlay2

     14 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.

    163 QMPlay2 alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (LGPL-3.0)

    Application typeApplication types

    • Media Player
    • Audio Player

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Haiku

    

    More about QMPlay2  

    

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12. 

    

    Cine

     6 likes

    Cine combines a clean interface with a high-performance engine to deliver a seamless viewing experience.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

    Application type

    • Media Player

    Origin

    • Brazil

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
    • Flatpak
    • Linux Mobile

    • Brazil

    

    

    

    +1

    

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13. 

    

    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
    • Linux Mobile

    • United States

    

    More about Showtime Player  

    

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14. 

    

    UMPlayer

     108 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

    • Israel

    

    

    

    More about UMPlayer  

    

    Good alternative?Is UMPlayer a good alternative to MPC-HC?