VLC Media Player Alternatives for Mac

Alternatives list

1. 

   

   IINA

    150 likes

   Though it's exclusive to macOS, IINA's users swear by it for being lightweight, efficient, and performative. Minor annoyances such as performance-based audio-video-subtitle desyncs that can be found on VLC are not a problem when using IINA. Additionally, its interface is neat clean, with clearly labelled settings. This ease of use combined with its excellent performance makes it an easy recommendation for macOS users looking for a media player.

   62 IINA alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Media Player
   • Audio Player

   Origin

   • International

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • mpv

   • Global

   

   

   

   More about IINA  

   

   Good alternative?Is IINA a good alternative to VLC Media Player?

    

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   8comments

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   IINA vs VLC Media Player Comments

   Top Positive Comment by Paul · Oct 31, 2017

   Great alternative to VLC if you're on macOS. It's lightweight, the UI is very clean, and has even more functionalities than VLC.

   Top Negative Comment by Lai Curaga · Aug 4, 2024

   still no RTSP support (for local webcam/small cctv)

   Positive comment by nicolaspatate · Jun 7, 2020

   IINA is the best modern player out there

   3 of 8 comments

   

   

   • IINA is Free and Open SourceVLC Media Player is also Free and Open Source
   • IINA is LightweightVLC Media Player is not according to our users
2. 

   

   MPV

    591 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.

   131 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 VLC Media Player?

    

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   28comments

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   MPV vs VLC Media Player Comments

   Top Positive Comment by John Fastman · Dec 20, 2016

   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 by Marek-Piekielnik · Dec 30, 2025

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

   Positive comment by crayon-cod-usable · Jun 15, 2026

   Although it doesn't have a proper UI to set things up, its quite minimalist yet powerful compared to VLC because of their pre-configured easy to use keybindings

   3 of 28 comments

   

   

   • 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

    465 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.

   143 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 VLC Media Player?

    

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   18comments

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   SMPlayer vs VLC Media Player Comments

   Top Positive Comment by Armin · Jul 17, 2021

   It has beautiful skins and is suitable for weak systems.

   Positive comment by Mayank-Arora · Mar 6, 2023

   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.

   Positive comment by Guest · Apr 18, 2022

   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.

   3 of 18 comments

   

   

   • 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
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6. 

   

   Infuse

    55 likes

   Ignite your video content with Infuse – the beautiful way to watch almost any video format on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. No need to convert files! Infuse is optimized for iOS 12, with powerful streaming options, trakt sync, and unmatched AirPlay & subtitle support.

   143 Infuse alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Freemium
   • Proprietary

   Application typeApplication types

   • Media Player
   • Media Server

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • iPhone
   • iPad
   • Apple TV
   • visionOS

   • United States

   

   

   

   More about Infuse  

   

   Good alternative?Is Infuse a good alternative to VLC Media Player?

    
7. 

   

   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.

   143 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 VLC Media Player?

    

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   2comments

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   Discontinued

   Latest stable release was on 27 February 2022.

   MPlayer vs VLC Media Player Comments

   Positive comment by Sam Lander · Jun 8, 2024

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

   Positive comment by Guest · Mar 27, 2017

   It read and play most media without any constraints.

   2 of 2 comments

   

   

   • 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. 

   

   GOM Player

    241 likes

   GOM Player is a freeware media player. Key strengths are the ability to play the majority of media files without the need to obtain a codec, and the ability to play some broken media files, both advantages over traditional players, like Windows Media Player.

   146 GOM Player alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Freemium
   • Proprietary

   Application type

   • Media Player

   Origin

   • South Korea

   Alerts

   • Bundleware

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Android
   • iPhone
   • Android Tablet
   • iPad

   • South Korea

   

   

   

   +9

   

   More about GOM Player  

   

   Good alternative?Is GOM Player a good alternative to VLC Media Player?

    

   |

   3comments

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   Bundleware

   The installer contains additional bloatware that can hijack your browser's settings. Be careful during the installation:

   GOM Player vs VLC Media Player Comments

   Positive comment by clydelyman · Mar 7, 2017

   Its effects are easier to use and it has an extensive Preferences selection; BE AWARE, they have a separate music player. I have both. the Reverb is solid. you can avoid the crapware by doing the first download from Ninite and just updating or do a custom install. To my knowledge GOM does not recored.

   Positive comment by Guest · Jul 26, 2015

   VLC Player looks like it belongs on a Windows 95 computer. GOM Player has a much more professional interface with lots of options.

   Positive comment by Guest · Dec 21, 2017

   Support almost all types of video formats.

   3 of 3 comments

   

   

   • GOM Player is Freemium and ProprietaryVLC Media Player is Free and Open Source
   • GOM Player is LightweightVLC Media Player is not according to our users
10. 

    

    Ray Media Player

     8 likes

    Watch anything. Understand everything. The world's first AI media player that generates and translates subtitles instantly in 200+ languages.

    52 Ray Media Player alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    • Media Player

    Origin

    • Hungary
    • EU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    • Hungary
    • EU

    

    

    

    +7

    

    More about Ray Media Player  

    

    Good alternative?Is Ray Media Player a good alternative to VLC Media Player?

     
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.

    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. 

    

    Submarine Player

     8 likes

    Struggling to find subtitles for your videos? Submarine Player automatically generates and shows subtitles as you watch, so you can easily enjoy videos in any language.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    • Media Player

    Origin

    • United States

    Platforms

    • Mac

    • United States

    

    

    

    +1

    

    More about Submarine Player  

    

    Good alternative?Is Submarine Player a good alternative to VLC Media Player?

     
13. 

    

    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.

    125 SPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

    Application typeApplication types

    • Media Player
    • Audio Player

    Origin

    • China

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows

    • China

    

    

    

    +2

    

    More about SPlayer  

    

    Good alternative?Is SPlayer a good alternative to VLC Media Player?

     
14. 

    

    Movist

     57 likes

    Movist is a movie player for Mac OS based on QuickTime & FFmpeg.

    A Simple and clean interface and high codec compatibility make this a real challenger to VLC.

    103 Movist alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    • Media Player

    Origin

    • South Korea

    Platforms

    • Mac

    • South Korea

    

    More about Movist  

    

    Good alternative?Is Movist a good alternative to VLC Media Player?

     
15. 

    

    QuickTime Player

     135 likes

    Watch Internet video, HD movie trailers, and personal media clips. Whether it’s on the web or on your desktop, QuickTime Player brings your digital media brilliantly to life.

    194 QuickTime Player alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    • Media Player

    Origin

    • United States

    Platforms

    • Mac

    • United States

    

    

    

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    Good alternative?Is QuickTime Player a good alternative to VLC Media Player?