VLC Media Player Alternatives for Windows
There are many alternatives to VLC Media Player for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best Windows alternative is MPC-HC, 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 loads of them are available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Windows alternatives to VLC Media Player are PotPlayer (Free), MPV (Free, Open Source), SMPlayer (Free, Open Source) and MPC-BE (Free, Open Source).
- MPC-HC's biggest advantage is arguably just how lightweight it is. Not only is it small in terms of hard drive space, but its CPU and overall system resource use is incredibly small compared to other video players, VLC included.
MPC-HC vs VLC Media Player opinions
BIr4 Run everything (with "K-lite mega codec pack" is perfect).karpovskiipa Very light-weight. With super easy interface and without any bugs.In my opinion MPC-HC is the definition of perfect for normal usage. It almost does every thing one can expect from a media player. Considering its performance, its size on the hard-disk as well as its CPU consumption is unbelievably low. Besides one have: Full control of playing screen size by default or cursor-dragging options Full control of video, audio, and playlist Full control of all after-play options Thank to all people who develop the program.Performance is superior to VLC.mpc is best media playerExtremely Light weight and better in performance than vlcthis softwere play any file in best output - PotPlayer is a modular video player that also works with most video file formats by default. Many of our users also find that it starts up faster and performs better than VLC, while also including small quality of life features that can be useful in specific contexts (such as support for two subtitle tracks on the same video file in order to help learn a new language).
Bundleware
Several antivirus detect a potentially unwanted application (adware) PUA.FusionCore in the file F.dll dropped by the installer of PotPlayer in the Temp folder. Once that file is blocked by the antivirus, the program is installed with no problems and ads.
PotPlayer vs VLC Media Player opinions
Looks better! more customizable, easier to use and support add two subtitle files at the same time (useful for the people who learn other language while watching)Feature rich and highly customizable, this wonderful piece of software has everything I need when I need it.Apollo07 It starts up faster than VLC and just works smoother for me overallexactly what i was looking for.humphreyhumphries It has a lot of customaization and don't forget it is the first player to have Dark mood builtin default.For Windows users, PotPlayer is the best alternative to VLC. It has so many features and works so much more smoothly than VLC ever could. The UI on it is also top-notch.luissalaslastra i love the touch capabilities of this specific software, the big button, the smooth scrolling with finger left and right, double tap to pause and play, all of that in windows media player is hard to find. - 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.
MPV vs VLC Media Player opinions
vektorweg I had some rare cases were VLC and MPlayer couldn't play a video correctly. MPV did it for me on Linux and Windows. Also like the GUI (or the lack of it) a lot more.JohnFastman 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.awvalenti Very minimal, indeed, and very fast. Has many keyboard shortcuts and displays album art for songs. I decided not to use it because I need global hotkeys (play/pause, next, previous) to work, and they didn't (at least on Windows).Shuunen finally seeking in a video is smooth <3vanzkiiee Best player for entertainment language learning as it can display 2 subs at a time and can be synched with Anki, the best tool for learning. ?collorfrisie it integrates with syncplayxvhpqg Changing playback speed doesn't cause audio dropouts. - 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.
- Free • Open Source
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- mpv
- PortableApps.com
- Haiku
- MPlayer
SMPlayer vs VLC Media Player opinions
On Linux systems is much better than VLC, faster, with no bugs and read every kind of video file.faster, better quality, no distortions in the videos like vlc.awvalenti Highly configurable, but lacks stability, at least on Windows. Freezes sometimes, even after switching between back-end players.AnisBarghouthi All the benefits of MPV plus user-friendly reskinnable GUI ("Black" skin is clean and neat). You can customize everything (Subtitles, audio, video) from the GUI which is fairly easier than editing config files in my opinion.armyn It has beautiful skins and is suitable for weak systems.jrstrai SMPlayer is a better choice for playing videos and has an easier to use interface than alternatives, like MPV. I love MPV, but it's not intuitive at all, beyond playing. I have problems sharing playlists made within VLC with other players, regardless of the format used. SMPlayer playlists just work.It's great. Open everything and it fully (really fully) customizable. Also have YouTube search engine (need to be isntalled aside) with a lot of features like search video by date, size etc. - MPC-BE is another fork of Media Player Classic (specifically of the Home Cinema fork) with a focus on bug fixes and for automatically mounting ISO images. It is actively updated and performs really well for video playback. Users do not recommend it for music playback, as it lacks support for playlist looping and includes odd behaviors for shuffling media playback.
MPC-BE vs VLC Media Player opinions
thumbnail view, available on MS store - Though Kodi can function as an alternative to VLC, its strengths lie in its robust cataloging of media and robust sorting and organization options for TV shows, movies, and music. Its media server capabilities are front and center, its playback functionality is nothing to sneeze at, and it can be used for that exact purpose.
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- BSD
- iPad
- Raspberry Pi
- Fire TV
Kodi vs VLC Media Player opinions
Kody is more oriented to being a fullscreen video/music cataloguing application, but it has an internal video/audio/iptv playing system with very good decoding capabilities like VLC and can be windowed as wellCan also play many formats, and can organize video libraries, playing over UPnP, FTP, and many other protocolsKodi, formerly XBMC, is a software media center.LesterCovax Kodi is a media server first and foremost. It's like comparing Google Docs to Microsoft Office.Kodi is a fullscreen media library manager, a whole home theater frontend. Slower for the purpose, with more complex navigation. - Though it's been discontinued and almost entirely superseded by successors like Media Player Classic Home Cinema, some users still swear by it as a sort of "old reliable" video player that can play most files people throw at it with no issue. However, it's been 10 years since its last release, so it's highly recommended to look at MPC-HC and other forks actively in development.
Discontinued
The project is no longer developed. The currently active fork is MPC-HC . Latest version, 6.4.9.1, released in April 2011, can be still downloaded from FreeCodec.com
Media Player Classic vs VLC Media Player opinions
It doesn't feature an online streamer... - KMPlayer is often praised for its interface, which has been described as more functional and user-friendly than VLC or Media Player Classic Home Cinema. Its playlist manager is more akin to WinAmp's than it is to VLC or other video players, which makes it desirable for those with vast multimedia catalogs. It also includes very granular customization options.
- Free • Proprietary
- Mac
- Windows
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
Bundleware
Be careful during installation. Forum
- 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.
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- AmigaOS
- Xfce
- MorphOS
MPlayer vs VLC Media Player opinions
It read and play most media without any constraints. - 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.
- Freemium • Proprietary
- Mac
- Windows
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
Bundleware
The installer contains additional bloatware that can hijack your browser's settings. Be careful during the installation: Forum
GOM Player vs VLC Media Player opinions
clydelyman 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.VLC Player looks like it belongs on a Windows 95 computer. GOM Player has a much more professional interface with lots of options.Support almost all types of video formats.