Windows Media Player Alternatives
Windows Media Player is described as 'The media player provided pre-installed with all modern Windows versions (7 and higher): Windows Media Player 12 plays more music and video than ever, including Flip Video and unprotected songs from your iTunes library!' and is a very popular Audio Player in the audio & music category. There are more than 100 alternatives to Windows Media Player for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, BSD and Android. The best alternative is VLC Media Player, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Windows Media Player are MPC-HC, foobar2000, MPV and AIMP.
Windows Media Player alternatives are mainly Audio Players but may also be Media Players or Internet Radio Services. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Windows Media Player.VLC Media Player
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Media Player
- Audio Player
277 alternatives to VLC Media Player- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- BSD
- iPad
- AppImageHub
- Apple Watch
- Snapcraft
- Google Chrome
- Apple TV
- Flathub
- PortableApps.com
- F-Droid
- Kindle Fire
- Haiku
- Homebrew
- Chocolatey
VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.
VLC Media Player Features
VLC Media Player vs Windows Media Player
It's efficient and the music is clear to listen to!
VLC media player is an excellent alternative to Windows Media Player. Although, its UI isn't appealing, neither is Windows Media Player's.
VLC, while an awesome media player, lacks WMP's library features. Thus, it is not an all-in-one system like WMP is.
The library features of WMP is far more intuitive.
RasheedAZCan actually play most media files and actually fulfil its purpose unlike wmp
VLC can play just about every video and audio file in existence.
This media player has so many features I don't know where to start. Half of the features I didn't even know existed before I started using it. Everything you will ever need in a media player, and more are packed into this gem. I can't believe its free, its unreal.
MPC-HC
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Media Player
- Audio Player
128 alternatives to MPC-HC- Windows
- PortableApps.com
Media Player Classic Home Cinema (MPC-HC) is an extremely light-weight, open source media player for Windows®. Media Player Classic Home Cinema supports all common video and audio file formats available for playback.
MPC-HC Features
MPC-HC vs Windows Media Player
foobar2000
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Proprietary
- Audio Player
- CD Ripper
- Audio Converter
172 alternatives to foobar2000- Mac
- Windows
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
foobar2000 is an advanced multi-platform freeware audio player.
foobar2000 Features
foobar2000 vs Windows Media Player
tvgoing1foobar is not windows media player, it does not play videos
GGhzLight weight MUSIC player, has everything you need. about 4MB installer and 15MB on ram ,light on CPU
Difficult to use, I couldn't work out how to rip CDs with it.
MPV
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Media Player
- Audio Player
89 alternatives to MPV- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- BSD
- Xfce
MPV is an audio and movie player based on MPlayer and mplayer2. It supports a wide variety of video file formats, audio and video codecs, and subtitle types.
MPV Features
MPV vs Windows Media Player
MPV is an open source and professional project
AIMP
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Proprietary
- Audio Player
- Media Player
- Internet Radio Service
288 alternatives to AIMP- Windows
- Android
- PortableApps.com
AIMP is powerful free audio player for Windows OS that supports for local files, NAS, clouds, and podcasts. Additionally, it includes powerful tools to operate with audio files.
AIMP Features
AIMP vs Windows Media Player
Strawberry
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Audio Player
- Audio Converter
221 alternatives to Strawberry- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- Haiku
Strawberry is a music player and music collection organizer. It is a fork of Clementine released in 2018 aimed at music collectors and audiophiles. The name is inspired by the band Strawbs. It's written in C++ using the Qt framework.
Strawberry Features
Strawberry vs Windows Media Player
zokrisUnlike VLC, Strawberry is not a "file player" but a complete management software for your music collection. Very convenient UI, can rip CDs, gives you the choice of encoders/decoders, ...
PotPlayer
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Proprietary
- Media Player
- Audio Player
115 alternatives to PotPlayer- Windows
Potplayer is a minimalist media player that has an extensive range of configurable options to choose from and lots of functionality.
PotPlayer Features
BundlewareSeveral 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 Windows Media Player
Built in image, video and audio capture any sources.
Video, audio and image capture from any devices in various format.
very customisable, allows the user to search and download subtitles through the program itself, without having to go to the browser to search. It also allows the user to synchronize the subtitles/audio via shortcuts and change the filters over the video.
Clementine
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Audio Player
- Internet Radio Service
- Podcast Player
234 alternatives to Clementine- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
Clementine is a cross-platform free and open source music player and library organizer. It is a port of Amarok 1.4 to the Qt 4 framework and the GStreamer multimedia framework, focusing on a fast and easy-to-use interface for searching and...
Clementine Features
DiscontinuedNo stable release since 2016. Newer release candidate seems to be available on Github.
Clementine vs Windows Media Player
154pinkchairsone of the greatest FOSS players, but tbh I prefer quodLibet since it's more lightweight
SMPlayer
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Media Player
- Audio Player
113 alternatives to SMPlayer- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- mpv
- PortableApps.com
- Haiku
- MPlayer
- Mac
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.
SMPlayer Features
Audacious
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Audio Player
121 alternatives to Audacious- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- Haiku
- Xfce
Audacious is an advanced audio player. It is free, lightweight, based on GTK+, runs on Linux and many other *nix platforms and is focused on audio quality and supporting a wide range of audio codecs. There is also support for several visual styles from Winamp.
Audacious Features
Audacious vs Windows Media Player
Windows Media Player is not Light Weight and audacious is light weight and only an Audio player. Win Media Player is Multimedia Player/RIpper with library functions.