VLC Media Player AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Audio Players

The best Audio Player alternative to VLC Media Player 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 many of them are Audio Players so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Audio Player alternatives to VLC Media Player are MPV, PotPlayer, SMPlayer and MX Player.

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VLC 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 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. MPC-HC icon

    MPC-HC

     1310 likes

    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.

    141 MPC-HC alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    MPC-HC screenshot 1
     
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    22
    Comments about MPC-HC as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    Top Positive Comment
    Paul Karpo
    11

    Very light-weight. With super easy interface and without any bugs.

    Top Negative Comment
    AikkabBasH
    0

    MPC-HC is not under active development since 2017 and therefore there is no downloads available of this application on their official website.

    veddev
    Positive
    0

    Its light-weight, included with the K-Lite codec pack... so awesome media player!

    3 of 22 comments
    MPC-HC icon
    MPC-HC icon
    • MPC-HC is Free and Open SourceVLC Media Player is also Free and Open Source
    • MPC-HC is LightweightVLC Media Player is not according to our users
  2. MPV icon

    MPV

     552 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
    Comments about MPV as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    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
    MPV icon
    MPV icon
    • 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. PotPlayer icon

    PotPlayer

     691 likes

    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).

    132 PotPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    PotPlayer screenshot 1
     
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    24
    Comments about PotPlayer as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    11

    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)

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Seth Mitchell
    Positive
    0

    I used it and found it very lightweight. Good alternative to VLC

    Mayank-Arora
    Positive
    0

    PotPlayer manages the folders and sub-folders sensibly. Import the list you want to play and it's simple to use. It remembers the 2x speed in next video (unlike VLC).

    3 of 24 comments
    PotPlayer icon
    PotPlayer icon
    • PotPlayer is Free Personal and ProprietaryVLC Media Player is Free and Open Source
    • PotPlayer is Lightweight and MinimalisticVLC Media Player is not according to our users
  5. 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
    Comments about SMPlayer as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    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
    SMPlayer icon
    SMPlayer icon
    • 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
  6. MX Player icon

    MX Player

     195 likes

    Though MX Player only supports Android devices, it is often cited as one of the platform's best video players. Featuring extensive customization options, an Android-optimized design, and plenty of supported video formats, MX Player is worth checking out on your Android phone or tablet if you're looking for a simple, optimized video player.

    134 MX Player alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • Chrome OS
    MX Player screenshot 1
     
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    4
    Comments about MX Player as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    Guest
    Positive
    6

    Powerful, Support lots of formats. Easy to use

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Salvador
    Positive
    0

    Some missing features but almost similar to VLC player

    HurDugggio
    Positive
    4

    Really does a good job of playing a video with maximized settings. Looks gorgeous.

    3 of 4 comments
    MX Player icon
    MX Player icon
    • MX Player is Freemium and ProprietaryVLC Media Player is Free and Open Source
  7. IINA icon

    IINA

     135 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.

    46 IINA alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • mpv
    IINA screenshot 1
     
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    8
    Comments about IINA as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    Top Positive Comment
    Paul
    5

    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
    Lai Curaga
    0

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

    nicolaspatate
    Positive
    2

    IINA is the best modern player out there

    3 of 8 comments
    IINA icon
    IINA icon
    • 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
  9. KMPlayer icon

    KMPlayer

     482 likes

    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.

    160 KMPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    PC
     
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    1
    Comments about KMPlayer as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    James Hunt
    Positive
    1

    Better interface and more features. For instance, KMP can skip one frame backwards, which VLC can't

    KMPlayer icon
    KMPlayer icon
    • KMPlayer is Free and ProprietaryVLC Media Player is Free and Open Source
  10. MPC-BE icon

    MPC-BE

     182 likes

    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.

    120 MPC-BE alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    MPC-BE screenshot 1
     
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    2
    Comments about MPC-BE as an Alternative to VLC Media Player
    Guest
    Positive
    -1

    thumbnail view, available on MS store

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    rapheal dowry
    Positive
    -2

    I haven't tried it until now but will try it soon and will update the reviews too.

    thanks!

    MPC-BE icon
    MPC-BE icon
    • MPC-BE is Free and Open SourceVLC Media Player is also Free and Open Source
    • MPC-BE is LightweightVLC Media Player is not according to our users
  11. 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
    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.
    MPlayer icon
    MPlayer icon
    • 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
  12. Celluloid icon

    Celluloid

     46 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
     
    |
    2
    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.
    Celluloid icon
    Celluloid icon
    • 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
  13. 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.

    Haruna 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
  14. Windows Media Player icon

    Windows Media Player

     263 likes

    Windows Media Player is a video and audio player developed by Microsoft for Windows 11 and Windows 10. It is the successor to Groove Music (previously Xbox Music), Microsoft Movies & TV and the original Windows Media...

    222 Windows Media Player alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Windows Media Player screenshot 1
     
12 of 41 VLC Media Player alternatives