VLC Media Player Alternatives for Linux

There are many alternatives to VLC Media Player for Linux if you are looking for a replacement. 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 VLC Media Player and many of them are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to VLC Media Player are SMPlayer, MPlayer, Celluloid and Haruna.

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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, iPhone, Mac and Android + Open Source. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to VLC Media Player.
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Alternatives list

  1. MPV icon

    MPV

     551 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.

    114 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
     
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    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
  2. 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.

    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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    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
  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.

    135 MPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

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

    Celluloid

     45 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.

    61 Celluloid alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • mpv
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Celluloid screenshot 1
     
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    2
    13
    Comments about Celluloid as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    Paul
    Positive
    2

    Good alternative to VLC, it's basically MPS with a nice GTK interface. Pretty lightweight, easy to use, with enough settings for 99% of the use cases.

    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.
    VLC Media Player Icon
    Celluloid icon

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

    • Celluloid is Free and Open SourceVLC Media Player is also Free and Open Source
    • Celluloid is LightweightVLC Media Player is not according to our users
  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.

    43 Haruna alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • KDE Plasma
    • mpv
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Haruna screenshot 1
     
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    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
  9. 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
     
  10. 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.

    154 QMPlay2 alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Haiku
    QMPlay2 screenshot 1
     
  11. 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
     
  12. UMPlayer icon

    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.

    149 UMPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    UMPlayer Skinnable User Interface - feature rich yet easy to use
     
  13. bomi icon

    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

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • mpv
    bomi screenshot 1
     
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    9
  14. Glide Player icon

    Glide Player

     1 like

    Minimalist media player using GStreamer for multimedia support and GTK for UI, supporting multiple formats on Linux and macOS. Offers subtitle and audio track switching, playback controls, and fullscreen mode.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Homebrew
    Glide Player screenshot 1
     
12 of 40 VLC Media Player alternatives