Windows Media Player Alternatives for Linux

Windows Media Player is not available for Linux but there are plenty of alternatives that runs on Linux with similar functionality. The best Linux alternative is VLC Media Player, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Windows Media Player and loads of them are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to Windows Media Player are MPV, Clementine, Strawberry and SMPlayer.

filter to find the best alternatives

Windows Media Player alternatives are mainly Audio Players, but if you're looking for Media Players or Internet Radio Services you can filter on that. Other popular filters include CD Ripper, Linux, Android Tablet, iPhone, Kindle Fire, Android and Windows. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Windows Media Player.
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Alternatives list

  1. VLC Media Player icon

    VLC Media Player

     7717 likes

    Enjoy seamless media experiences with this cross-platform, ad-free player supporting multimedia files, DVDs, streaming, Chromecast, 4K, and no tracking. Customize with themes, play offline, and get privacy-focused service without registration. Fully extensible by plugins.

    168 VLC Media Player alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • HUAWEI AppGallery
    • iPad
    • AppImageHub
    • Apple Watch
    • Snapcraft
    • Google Chrome
    • Apple TV
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • F-Droid
    • Kindle Fire
    • Haiku
    • Android TV
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    VLC Media Player screenshot 1
     
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    9
    VLC Media Player vs Windows Media Player Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Rasheed AZ
    5

    Can actually play most media files and actually fulfil its purpose unlike wmp

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    20

    VLC, while an awesome media player, lacks WMP's library features. Thus, it is not an all-in-one system like WMP is.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    tpc1095
    Positive
    1

    Not an alternative to Windows Media Player at all because the main function of WMP is to organize song tracks into albums by artist. Just playing a file isn't a big deal.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 9 comments
    • VLC Media Player is Free and Open SourceWindows Media Player is Free and Proprietary
    • VLC Media Player is Customizable and Privacy focusedWindows Media Player is not according to our users
  2. 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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    1
    MPV vs Windows Media Player Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    5

    MPV is an open source and professional project

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • MPV is Free and Open SourceWindows Media Player is Free and Proprietary
    • MPV is Minimalistic and Privacy focusedWindows Media Player is not according to our users
  4. Clementine icon

    Clementine

     756 likes

    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...

    254 Clementine alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    Clementine with lyrics pane
     
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    1
    Clementine vs Windows Media Player Comments
    154pinkchairs
    Positive
    0

    one of the greatest FOSS players, but tbh I prefer quodLibet since it's more lightweight

    • Clementine is Free and Open SourceWindows Media Player is Free and Proprietary
    • Clementine is Privacy focusedWindows Media Player is not according to our users
  5. Strawberry icon

    Strawberry

     249 likes

    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.

    244 Strawberry alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Warning

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    Strawberry screenshot 1
     
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    2
    Strawberry vs Windows Media Player Comments
    zokris
    Positive
    1

    Unlike 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, ...

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Strawberry is very good option to play CDs extract them, organize and many more

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • Strawberry is Free and Open SourceWindows Media Player is Free and Proprietary
    • Strawberry is Customizable and Privacy focusedWindows Media Player is not according to our users
  6. 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
     
  7. Audacious icon

    Audacious

     301 likes

    Lightweight open-source audio player for Unix-like platforms focused on high sound quality, extensive codec support, playlist handling, Internet radio, plugins, Winamp-style skins, cue sheets, metadata display, effects, equalizer, and efficient resource usage.

    137 Audacious alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • Xfce
    Audacious screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Audacious vs Windows Media Player Comments
    Guest
    Negative
    -3

    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.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • Audacious is Free and Open SourceWindows Media Player is Free and Proprietary
  9. Amarok icon

    Amarok

     411 likes

    Amarok is a powerful music player with an intuitive interface. It makes playing the music you love and discovering new music easier than ever before — and it looks good doing it.

    170 Amarok alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
    • Flatpak
    Overview
     
  11. DeaDBeeF icon

    DeaDBeeF

     199 likes

    DeaDBeeF is a lightweight graphical music player created for easy playback of music and management of playlists. It supports major audio codecs and tags, global hotkeys, gapless playback, streaming audio, command line control, and has an 18-band equalizer.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Cinnamon
    • GNOME
    • MATE
    • Xfce
    DeaDBeeF screenshot 1
     
  12. Wora icon

    Wora

     33 likes

    Wora is a beautiful player for audiophiles (pun intended). An open-source lossless music player app that lets you organize and play your favorite tracks seamlessly.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Wora screenshot 1
     
  13. 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)
     
  14. Euphonica icon

    Euphonica

     17 likes

    Euphonica is an MPD client with integrated spectrum visualiser, metadata downloading & more.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Euphonica screenshot 1
     
12 of 71 Windows Media Player alternatives