Lightweight MPC-HC Alternatives for Linux

MPC-HC is not available for Linux but there are plenty of alternatives that runs on Linux with similar functionality. The best Linux alternative is MPV, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to MPC-HC and 13 are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to MPC-HC are SMPlayer, MPlayer, Celluloid and Haruna.

filter to find the best alternatives

MPC-HC alternatives are mainly Media Players, but if you're looking for Audio Players or Music Streaming Services you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Free, Linux, Android, iPad, iPhone and Mac. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to MPC-HC.
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Alternatives list

  1. MPV icon

    MPV

     556 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.

    115 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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    4
    MPV vs MPC-HC Comments
    zlelmefs
    Negative
    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
    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
    -1

    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
  2. SMPlayer icon

    SMPlayer

     459 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.

    131 SMPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • mpv
    • Snapcraft
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • MPlayer
    • Flathub
    • Homebrew
    Playing video - Default Skin
     
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    4
    SMPlayer vs MPC-HC Comments
    aseixas
    Positive
    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
    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
    -1

    SMPlayer lacks the features and the feel of MPC-HC

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    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
  4. 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.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • AmigaOS
    • Xfce
    • MorphOS
    • Haiku
    MPlayer on Ubuntu (Linux)
     
  5. Celluloid icon

    Celluloid

     47 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

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • mpv
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Celluloid screenshot 1
     
  6. 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.

    44 Haruna alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • KDE Plasma
    • mpv
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Haruna screenshot 1
     
  9. QMPlay2 icon

    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.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Haiku
    QMPlay2 screenshot 1
     
  10. Showtime Player icon

    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

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
    • Flatpak
    Showtime Player screenshot 1
     
  11. GridPlayer icon

    GridPlayer

     8 likes

    Simple VLC-based video player that can play multiple videos at the same time. You can play as many videos as you like, the only limit is your hardware. It supports all video formats that VLC supports (which is all of them).

    13 GridPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Main Window
     
  12. 1by1 icon

    1by1

     45 likes

    1by1 is a small, fast and handy audio player which is not only small: it provides a smart and versatile environment to handle your file collection and listen to your tracks - with no need to fuddle with playlists or media databases.

    115 1by1 alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    Main UI,,,,
     
  13. MoonPlayer icon

    MoonPlayer

     2 likes

    All-in-One video player based on mpv that can play videos from Youtube, Bilibili etc. as well as local videos.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • AppImageHub
    • Flatpak
    • Flathub
    MoonPlayer screenshot 1
     
  14. Dragon Player icon

    Dragon Player

     5 likes

    Dragon Player does one thing, and only one thing, which is playing multimedia files. Its simple interface is designed not to get in your way and instead empowers you to simply play multimedia files.

    84 Dragon Player alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Dragon Player screenshot 1
     
12 of 13 MPC-HC alternatives