VLC media player comparisons
VLC media player is compared head-to-head with mpv, KMPlayer and SMPlayer and more: 6 head-to-heads in Media Player Software, each with the specs and prices we checked.
VLC media player head-to-head
- VLC media player vs mpv
- VLC media player vs KMPlayer
- VLC media player vs SMPlayer
- VLC media player vs Infuse
- VLC media player vs MediaPortal
- VLC media player vs 5KPlayer
VLC media player vs each of them
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Supported platforms | Network playback | Subtitle support | Format support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VLC media player | Yes | Free | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android | Yes | Yes | MPEG-1/2, MPEG-4, H.264, DivX, XviD, WMV, MKV, MP4, MOV, AVI, WebM, MP3, AAC, FLAC, DVD, Audio CD, VCD | 9.4 |
| 2 | mpv | Yes | Free | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android | Yes | Yes | Matroska (MKV), MP4 | 9.1 |
| 3 | KMPlayer | Yes | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Yes | Yes | AVI, MP4, MKV, MOV, WMV, FLV, MPEG, MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV, SRT, ASS, SSA, WebVTT | 9.0 | |
| 4 | SMPlayer | Yes | Free | Windows, Linux, macOS | Yes | Yes | AVI, ASF/WMV/WMA, QT/MOV/MP4, RealAudio/RealVideo, Ogg/OGM, Matroska, MPEG-1/2, H.264, MPEG-4, MP3, AAC, AC3, DTS, and more | 8.8 |
| 6 | Infuse | Yes | $16.99/yr | iOS, macOS, Apple TV, visionOS | Yes | Yes | 3GP, AVI, AV1, ASF, BDMV, DIVX, DVDMEDIA, DVR-MS, FLV, H.264, H.265, H.266, ISO/IMG, M4V, MKV, MOV, MP4, MPEG, MTS/M2TS, MXF, OGM, OGV, RMVB, STRM, STRMLNK, TS, VC1, VIDEO_TS, VOB, VP9, WEBM, WMV, WTV; AAC, AC3, DOLBY, DTS, E-AC3, FLAC, MP3, OGG, PCM, TTA, WMA | 8.6 |
| 7 | MediaPortal | Yes | Free | web, windows, ios, android | Yes | Yes | MPEG-2, MPEG-1, MOV, H.264, VC-1, DivX, Xvid, AC3, DTS, MP3, AAC, Matroska, DVD, Blu-ray | 8.5 |
| 8 | 5KPlayer | Yes | Free | Windows, macOS | Yes | Yes | MP4, MKV, AV1, MOV, WMV, FLV, AVI, MPEG, MTS, M2TS, VOB, WebM, MP3, AAC, FLAC, APE | 8.4 |
Compare VLC media player with any media player
These are the matchups our editors wrote up. The compare tool pairs VLC media player with any other product in Media Player Software — and up to four at once — from the same checked specs.
Compare VLC media player with any tool side by side →
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Our full VLC media player verdict, pricing and fact sheet →
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Compared by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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