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, SMPlayer and Audacious.

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
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Alternatives list

  1. VLC Media Player icon
     7880 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.

    194 VLC Media Player alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Windows Mobile
    • 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
    • Xbox
    • OpenAPK
    Good alternative?
     
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    9
  2. MPV icon
     588 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.

    128 MPV alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Haiku
    • Xfce
    • Chocolatey
    • OpenAPK
    • US flagUnited States
    MPV screenshot 1
    Good alternative?
     
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    1
  3. Clementine icon
     766 likes

    Free cross-platform audio player and library organizer featuring support for local files, internet radio, smart and dynamic playlists, playlist import/export, projectM visualizations, lyrics, artist info, album art, tag editing, transcoding, device sync, and remote control.

    267 Clementine alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    Good alternative?
     
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    1
  4. SMPlayer icon
     465 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.

    141 SMPlayer alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • mpv
    • Snapcraft
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • MPlayer
    • Flathub
    • Homebrew
    Good alternative?
     
  5. Audacious icon
     306 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.

    151 Audacious alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • Xfce
    Good alternative?
     
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    1
  6. Strawberry icon
     251 likes

    Music player and collection organizer featuring support for diverse audio formats, bit-perfect playback, playlist management, tag editing, advanced output controls, streaming from Subsonic, Tidal, Qobuz, scrobbling, CD playback, and cover art retrieval.

    254 Strawberry alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
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    2
  7. Rhythmbox icon
     437 likes

    Rhythmbox is an audio player for Linux that plays and organizes digital music. Inspired by Apple's iTunes, it is free software that is designed to work well under the .

    170 Rhythmbox alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • GNOME
    Good alternative?
     
  8. DeaDBeeF icon
     200 likes

    Lightweight desktop music player designed for multiple platforms, supporting major audio codecs, gapless playback, playlist management, customizable global hotkeys, 18-band equalizer, streaming audio, plugin extensions, and command line controls.

    195 DeaDBeeF alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Cinnamon
    • GNOME
    • MATE
    • Xfce
    Good alternative?
     
  9. Amarok icon
     410 likes

    Cross-platform music player featuring customizable interface, dynamic playlists, powerful tagging and sorting, contextual views, drag-and-drop menus, robust file tracking, language localization, bookmarking, database importing, script support, and audio CD playback.

    183 Amarok alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
    • Flatpak
    Good alternative?
     
  10. MPlayer icon
     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 type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • AmigaOS
    • Xfce
    • MorphOS
    • Haiku
    Good alternative?
     
  11. Haruna icon
     29 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.

    56 Haruna alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • KDE Plasma
    • mpv
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Good alternative?
     
  12. Euphonica icon
     19 likes

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

    76 Euphonica alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Good alternative?
     
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