Best Media Player Software in 2026
Updated
In short: mpv is ranked #1 of 76 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Infuse and VLC media player. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Infuse. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Infuse at $1.42/mo.
Choosing a player depends on the media files you have and how you want to play them. Compared on format support, 4K playback and hardware acceleration, these options also differ on subtitle support, network playback and supported platforms. mpv, Infuse and VLC media player are among the names to weigh against your devices and playback needs. The listed license model, free-plan availability and paid-from pricing add context on how each is offered and what it costs. Consider whether compatibility, subtitles or playback over a network matters most for your setup, then use those criteria to compare the available options.
76 media player software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
76ranked
9free plans on this page
$1.42/molowest paid tier
4 Oct 2026last checked
Input list Media Player Software 25 channels on this page · 143 of 200 spec lines stated by the makers
Ch Tool Free planPaid fromSupported platformsNetwork playbackSubtitle supportFormat supportHardware acceleration4K playback Spec sheet Score
01 mpv Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsWindows, macOS, Linux, AndroidNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat supportMatroska (MKV), MP4Hardware accelerationYes4K playbackYes 7/8spec lines stated 9.1
02 Infuse Free planYesPaid fromFreeSupported platformsiOS, macOS, Apple TV, visionOSNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat support3GP, 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, WMAHardware accelerationYes4K playbackYes 8/8spec lines stated 8.8
03 VLC media player Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS, AndroidNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat supportMPEG-1/2, MPEG-4, H.264, DivX, XviD, WMV, MKV, MP4, MOV, AVI, WebM, MP3, AAC, FLAC, DVD, Audio CD, VCDHardware accelerationYes4K playbackYes 7/8spec lines stated 8.7
04 KMPlayer Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsWindows, macOS, iOS, AndroidNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat supportAVI, MP4, MKV, MOV, WMV, FLV, MPEG, MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV, SRT, ASS, SSA, WebVTTHardware accelerationYes4K playbackYes 7/8spec lines stated 8.5
05 5KPlayer Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsWindows, macOSNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat supportMP4, MKV, AV1, MOV, WMV, FLV, AVI, MPEG, MTS, M2TS, VOB, WebM, MP3, AAC, FLAC, APEHardware accelerationYes4K playbackYes 7/8spec lines stated 8.5
06 SMPlayer Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsWindows, Linux, macOSNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat supportAVI, ASF/WMV/WMA, QT/MOV/MP4, RealAudio/RealVideo, Ogg/OGM, Matroska, MPEG-1/2, H.264, MPEG-4, MP3, AAC, AC3, DTS, and moreHardware accelerationYes4K playbackYes 7/8spec lines stated 8.4
07 RealPlayer Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsWindows, macOS, iOS, AndroidNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat supportFLV, MOV, MPEG-4, H.264, MP4, AVI, RealVideo, WMV, 3GP, MPEG-2, MKV, WebM, VOB, MP3, M4A, AAC, RealAudio, WMA, WAV, IVRHardware accelerationnot stated4K playbacknot stated 5/8spec lines stated 8.3
08 MPlayer Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsnot statedNetwork playbacknot statedSubtitle supportnot statedFormat supportnot statedHardware accelerationYes4K playbacknot stated 2/8spec lines stated 8.2
09 DivX Player Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformswindows, macosNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat supportAVI, DIVX, MKV, MP4, HEVCHardware accelerationYes4K playbackYes 7/8spec lines stated 8.1
10 Emby Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsweb, windows, macos, linux, ios, android, self hostedNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat supportH.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, VP9, MKV, MP4, MOV, AAC, MP3, WMA, FLAC, PCM, AC3/EAC3, DTS, ALACHardware accelerationYes4K playbackYes 7/8spec lines stated 8.1
11 MediaPortal Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsweb, windows, ios, androidNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat supportMPEG-2, MPEG-1, MOV, H.264, VC-1, DivX, Xvid, AC3, DTS, MP3, AAC, Matroska, DVD, Blu-rayHardware accelerationYes4K playbacknot stated 6/8spec lines stated 8.0
12 BS.Player Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsWindows, AndroidNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat supportWebM, Xvid, AVI, MPG, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, 3ivx, streaming video, AVCHD, MOV, RM, OGM, MKV, ASF, WMV, DV, M1V, M2V, MP4, MPV, SWF, VOB, WAV, MPA, MP1, MP2, MP3, Ogg, AAC, AIF, RAM, WMA, FLVHardware accelerationYes4K playbacknot stated 6/8spec lines stated 8.0
13 foobar2000 Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsWindows, macOS, Android, iOS; Linux via WineNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportnot statedFormat supportMP3, MP2, MP1, M4A/AAC/Apple Lossless, Ogg Vorbis, Opus, Musepack, Speex, AC3, DTS, WMA, FLAC/Ogg FLAC, WavPack, Monkey's Audio, TAK, WAV, Wave64, RF64, AIFF, AU/SND, Matroska/WebM, MPEG Transport Stream, Audio CD, HLS radioHardware accelerationnot stated4K playbacknot stated 4/8spec lines stated 7.9
14 GOM Player Free planYesPaid from$22one-timeSupported platformsWindows, macOS, iOS, AndroidNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat supportAVI, OGM, MKV, MP4, TS, WMV, MOV, MPG, VOB, FLV, MP3, M4A, AAC, OGG, FLAC, WAV, WMAHardware accelerationnot stated4K playbacknot stated 6/8spec lines stated 7.9
15 doubleTwist Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsandroid, windows, macosNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportnot statedFormat supportMP3, AAC/M4A, ALAC/M4A, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, Ogg Opus, WMA, FLAC, DTS in WAV/FLAC, DSDHardware accelerationnot stated4K playbacknot stated 4/8spec lines stated 7.8
16 Audirvāna Free planNoPaid fromnot statedSupported platformswindows, macos, linux, ios, androidNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportnot statedFormat supportFLAC, Ogg FLAC, ALAC, AIFF, WAV, APE, WavPack, AAC, MP3, DSF, DFF, ISO, CUE, MQAHardware accelerationnot stated4K playbacknot stated 4/8spec lines stated 7.6
17 PlayerXtreme Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsiOS, Android, Apple TV, Android TV, Apple WatchNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat supportMP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, m3u8, WebM, 3gp, FLV, MPG, TS, VOB, MP3, M4A, FLAC, WAV, WMA, AIFFHardware accelerationYes4K playbackYes 7/8spec lines stated 7.5
18 Volumio Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsLinux, Raspberry Pi, PC, web browser, iOS, AndroidNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportnot statedFormat supportMP3, MP2, OGG, FLAC, OPUS, WAV, AIFF, DSD, AAC, MPC, WV, MP4, MKV, MOV, MPEG, OGV, WebM, WMA, WMVHardware accelerationnot stated4K playbacknot stated 4/8spec lines stated 7.5
19 QMPlay2 Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsWindows, Linux, macOSNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat supportFFmpeg-supported formats and codecs; Audio CD; raw files; chiptunesHardware accelerationYes4K playbacknot stated 6/8spec lines stated 7.4
20 Music Player Daemon Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsLinux, Windows, macOS, AndroidNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportnot statedFormat supportWAV, AIFF, AAC, FLAC, DSDIFF, DSF, MP3, FFmpeg-supported codecsHardware accelerationnot stated4K playbacknot stated 4/8spec lines stated 7.4
21 AIMP Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsWindows, Linux, AndroidNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportNoFormat supportAPE, MP3, WAV, OGG, MPGA, UMX, MOD, MO3, WV, IT, S3M, MTM, XM, FLAC, MP4, M4A, M4B, MPC, AIFF, AAC, OPUS, DSF, DFF, TTA, WEBM, CDA, AC3, DTS, MIDI, RMI, SPX, TAK, WMA, MKA, MPEG-DASHHardware accelerationnot stated4K playbackNo 6/8spec lines stated 7.4
22 OSMC Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsRaspberry Pi, Vero, Apple TVNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat supportMPEG-2, VC-1, H.264, H.265/HEVC, AV1, MKV, MP4, MOV, WMV, TS, M2TS, AAC, FLAC, MP3, OGG, Opus, WAV, WMAHardware accelerationYes4K playbackYes 7/8spec lines stated 7.3
23 Haruna Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsLinux, WindowsNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat supportnot statedHardware accelerationYes4K playbacknot stated 5/8spec lines stated 7.3
24 nPlayer Free planNoPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsiOS, Android, macOSNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportYesFormat supportMP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, ASF, FLV, OGV, RMVB, TP, MP3, WAV, WMA, FLAC, APEHardware accelerationYes4K playbacknot stated 6/8spec lines stated 7.2
25 VOX Music Player Free planYesPaid fromnot statedSupported platformsWindows, macOS, iOSNetwork playbackYesSubtitle supportnot statedFormat supportAIF, AIFF, ASF, DSD, PCM, WAV, AAC, M4A, M4B, MP1, MP2, MP3, MP4, MP+, MPC, MPP, OGA, OGG, OPUS, RA, RM, WMA, ALAC, APE, DFF, DSF, FLAC, TTA, WMA Lossless, WVHardware accelerationnot stated4K playbacknot stated 4/8spec lines stated 7.2
Is your tool on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which media player software is ranked first on Specifiction?
mpv is ranked #1 of 76 with a score of 9.1. Infuse is second and VLC media player third.
How many of these have a free plan?
9 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Infuse has the lowest first paid tier we found: $1.42/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing. Paid placements never change a rank.
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