Cloud, Backup & PC

Best media player software

Play the video and music files on your PC, with the subtitles, formats and streams you need, and without ads. 12 media players, ranked by points out of 100.

Facts checked 9 Oct 2026 · How we score media players

In short

VLC media player ranks first with 86 points out of 100, ahead of Kodi (76) and mpv (67).
VLC media player is the best media player you can use for free (#1, 86 points).
The lowest price here is GOM Player at $22/yr (price of the player).
Points come from 14 published rules. We did not install or test the software.

1
VLC media playerPeople who want one free player for any file, with no ads
86/100
$0price of the player
2
KodiPeople who want a free, open-source player with a library and add-ons
76/100
$0price of the player
3
mpvPeople who want a free, scriptable player and are fine without a built-in library
67/100
$0price of the player
4
PotPlayerWindows users who want many playback settings in a free player
60/100
$0price of the player
5
5KPlayerPeople who want a free player that also streams to and from Apple and DLNA devices
56/100
$0price of the player
6
MPC-BEWindows users who want a light, free player with built-in filters
53/100
$0price of the player
7
SMPlayerPeople who want a free player for Windows, macOS and Linux with subtitle search
43/100
$0price of the player
8
KMPlayerPeople who want a free player that opens discs and plays 4K and 8K video
42/100
$0price of the player
9
MPC-HC (Media Player Classic - Home Cinema)Windows users who want a light, free, open-source player
41/100
$0price of the player
10
CyberLink PowerDVDPeople who still watch DVDs or Blu-ray discs on a Windows PC
34/100
$54.99/yrprice of the player
11
GOM PlayerPeople who watch a lot of subtitled video and want apps on Mac and phones
26/100
$22/yrprice of the player
12
Media Player (Windows)Windows users who want a free, built-in player for local music and video
20/100
$0price of the player

How the points add up

Points earned out of the points available in each part of the method.

Product	Systems of 12	Video of 31	Streams, audio and library of 25	Ads and privacy of 20	Price of 12	Total
VLC media player	12	29	13	20	12	86
Kodi	12	25	19	8	12	76
mpv	3	29	15	8	12	67
PotPlayer	0	31	17	0	12	60
5KPlayer	3	27	6	8	12	56
MPC-BE	0	27	6	8	12	53
SMPlayer	6	13	4	8	12	43
KMPlayer	6	22	2	0	12	42
MPC-HC (Media Player Classic - Home Cinema)	0	21	0	8	12	41
CyberLink PowerDVD	0	23	10	0	1	34
GOM Player	9	14	0	0	3	26
Media Player (Windows)	0	0	8	0	12	20

Each media player in brief

1. VLC media player

VLC suits anyone who wants a single player that costs nothing, carries no ads and has downloads for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. It opens discs, network streams (including HLS and RTSP) and HDR video, and accepts Lua add-ons. The catch is thin documentation: the vendor's pages do not name ReplayGain, gapless playback, a media library or subtitle search, so those earn nothing here.

Best for: People who want one free player for any file, with no ads. Prices, facts and sources

2. Kodi

Kodi suits people who want a free, open-source player that builds a library, plays discs and takes add-ons. Subtitle search, DXVA2 decoding and tone-mapped HDR are all documented. The catch: it is built as a media centre rather than a simple player, it needs Windows 10 or later, and its forum was breached in 2023.

Best for: People who want a free, open-source player with a library and add-ons. Prices, facts and sources

3. mpv

mpv suits people who want a free player with hardware decoding, HDR handling, disc support and a scripting interface, and who do not mind configuring it. It is offered free of charge. The catch: its project page calls the Windows and macOS binaries third-party builds, and it has no media library.

Best for: People who want a free, scriptable player and are fine without a built-in library. Prices, facts and sources

4. PotPlayer

PotPlayer suits Windows users who want a free, setting-rich player that covers hardware decoding, HDR, many subtitle types and streams. It is Windows only and the terms bar modifying or reverse engineering it, and its terms let Kakao collect system details, such as CPU and memory type, for product support. The vendor's pages do not name a media library.

Best for: Windows users who want many playback settings in a free player. Prices, facts and sources

5. 5KPlayer

5KPlayer suits people on Windows or Mac who want a free player with DVD playback, hardware decoding, HDR and DLNA. The catch: the download page promotes another product, and the privacy policy says the company collects software usage statistics.

Best for: People who want a free player that also streams to and from Apple and DLNA devices. Prices, facts and sources

6. MPC-BE

MPC-BE suits Windows users who want a free, open-source player that decodes on the graphics card and needs no codec pack. It supports HDR and HLS, and it loads external subtitle files automatically. The catch: it runs on Windows only, and its pages do not name a media library or a way to add plugins.

Best for: Windows users who want a light, free player with built-in filters. Prices, facts and sources

7. SMPlayer

SMPlayer suits people who want a free, open-source player on Windows, macOS or Linux, with DVD playback and built-in subtitle search. The catch: the vendor's pages do not name HDR or hardware decoding on Windows, and its privacy policy covers only the website.

Best for: People who want a free player for Windows, macOS and Linux with subtitle search. Prices, facts and sources

8. KMPlayer

KMPlayer suits people who want a free Windows player that lists disc playback, built-in codecs and hardware acceleration. The 64X edition is described as ad-free, but the terms allow ads on service screens and homepages. The catch: it is closed source, collects usage data, and a 2013 advisory reported a suspected compromise of its update mechanism.

Best for: People who want a free player that opens discs and plays 4K and 8K video. Prices, facts and sources

9. MPC-HC (Media Player Classic - Home Cinema)

MPC-HC suits Windows users who want a free, open-source player with HDR output, Blu-ray playback and built-in subtitle search. Its pages name Blu-ray playback but not DVD, a media library or add-ons. It has no apps for other systems.

Best for: Windows users who want a light, free, open-source player. Prices, facts and sources

10. CyberLink PowerDVD

PowerDVD suits people who want one Windows player for discs, with licensed Dolby and DTS audio. The 365 subscription costs $54.99 a year and has the same features as Ultra, including Blu-ray, ISO files and HDR10. The catch: it is paid software, runs only on Windows, and the free version locks its premium features after 7 days.

Best for: People who still watch DVDs or Blu-ray discs on a Windows PC. Prices, facts and sources

11. GOM Player

GOM Player suits people who want wide subtitle support and apps on Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. Plus is the vendor's ad-free edition, a lifetime licence with a regular price of $22.00 for one PC, shown on sale at $11.00. The catch: the English pages name no hardware decoding, HDR or streaming protocols.

Best for: People who watch a lot of subtitled video and want apps on Mac and phones. Prices, facts and sources

12. Media Player (Windows)

Media Player suits Windows users who want a free player that organises local music and video without extra setup. Its Store page names a library, an equalizer and playlists, but not streaming, subtitles, HDR or disc playback. The catch: some common video formats need a separate Store codec extension.

Best for: Windows users who want a free, built-in player for local music and video. Prices, facts and sources

Every fact, side by side

Each row is one rule of the method and the points it is worth. "–" means the vendor does not publish it, which earns nothing.

Rule (points)	VLC media player	Kodi	mpv	PotPlayer	5KPlayer	MPC-BE	SMPlayer	KMPlayer	MPC-HC (Media Player Classic - Home Cinema)	CyberLink PowerDVD	GOM Player	Media Player (Windows)
Other systems (12)	4 of 4	4 of 4	1 of 4	0 of 4	1 of 4	0 of 4	2 of 4	2 of 4	0 of 4	0 of 4	3 of 4	0 of 4
Disc playback (5)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	–	–
No codec pack needed (6)	Yes	–	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	–	Yes	Yes	No
Hardware video decoding (7)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	–	Yes	Yes	Yes	–	–
HDR playback (5)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	–	–	Yes	Yes	–	–
Subtitle features (8)	3 of 4	4 of 4	3 of 4	4 of 4	2 of 4	2 of 4	1 of 4	2 of 4	2 of 4	–	4 of 4	–
Network streams (8)	3 of 4	3 of 4	3 of 4	3 of 4	2 of 4	2 of 4	2 of 4	–	0 of 4	–	–	–
Audio features (8)	2 of 4	2 of 4	3 of 4	4 of 4	1 of 4	1 of 4	–	1 of 4	0 of 4	2 of 4	–	1 of 4
Media library (6)	–	Yes	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	Yes	–	Yes
Plugins or add-ons (3)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Open-source apps (8)	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	–	–	–
No ads or bundled offers (8)	Yes	–	–	–	No	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
States no tracking (4)	Yes	–	–	No	No	–	–	No	–	–	–	–
Price of the player (12)	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$54.99/yr	$22/yr	$0

Head to head

VLC media player vs Kodi
86 vs 76 points
VLC media player vs mpv
86 vs 67 points
Kodi vs mpv
76 vs 67 points

We read each vendor's own pages, record every fact with its source and date, and score it by the rules on how we score media players. A tie goes to the lower price. Desktop video players for personal use that run on Windows. Players also play music. Music-only players, media servers, streaming-service apps and video editors are left out. Features count in the edition the price line names. Sources: the vendor's site, manual, wiki or official repository. Vendor claims about speed or quality are shown on product pages but never scored. Prices are in US dollars before tax.