mpv vs QMPlay2
mpv
mpv.ioQMPlay2
github.comSide by side
| Figure | mpv | QMPlay2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Media Player Software | 9.1 (#2) | 8.7 (#8) |
| Spec score · Video Player Software | 8.5 (#6) | 8.2 (#13) |
| Format support | Matroska (MKV),MP4 | FFmpeg-supported formats and codecs; Audio CD; raw files; chiptunes |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Hardware acceleration | Yes | Yes |
| Hardware decoding | mpv can use most hardware decoding APIs on all platforms, enabled at runtime when desired. | Supported hardware video decoding options include Vulkan Video, NVIDIA CUVID, Windows DXVA2 and D3D11VA, Linux/BSD VA-API, and macOS VideoToolBox. |
| License | mpv is GPLv2 or later by default, with an LGPLv2.1-or-later option when built with -Dgpl=false. | The repository identifies its license as LGPL-3.0. |
| License model | free | free |
| Media support | It supports a wide variety of media file formats, audio and video codecs, and subtitle types. | It also supports Audio CD, raw files, and chiptunes. |
| Network playback | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | Official installation guidance lists Windows, macOS, Linux packages, Android, and several BSD and Haiku packages. | The latest release page lists downloads for Windows and macOS and links to Arch Linux packages; it says Android experimental packages and AppImage are no longer provided. |
| Product | mpv is a free, open source, cross-platform command-line media player. | QMPlay2 is a video and audio player that supports formats handled by FFmpeg, Audio CDs, raw files, and chiptunes. |
| Security | Only the most recent stable release receives security updates, and mpv is not designed to be exposed to untrusted environments. | GitHub reports that the project has no security policy set up and no published security advisories. |
| Subtitle support | Yes | Yes |
| Support | The project directs users to IRC, GitHub Discussions, the issue tracker, and its wiki for questions, bugs, and scripts. | The project repository provides Issues and Discussions as places for community reports and questions. |
| Advanced video features | Features include scaling, color management, frame timing, interpolation, and HDR. | The player supports spherical view on OpenGL and Vulkan outputs and automatic detection of interlaced video. |
Plans
In their own words
mpv
mpv is a free, open-source command-line media player for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. It plays a wide range of media formats, audio and video codecs, and subtitle types, including Matroska (MKV) and MP4, with network playback and 4K playback support. Its interface is deliberately limited: there is no full graphical interface, only a small on-screen controller for basic playback. Video output is based on OpenGL, Vulkan, and D3D11, with scaling, color management, frame timing, interpolation, and HDR features. mpv can use hardware decoding APIs on its supported platforms, and decoding can be switched on while the player is running. Scripts and user-created scripts can extend its behavior; developers can also use its C API to embed it in other applications. The project is actively developed. The default license is GPLv2 or later, with LGPLv2.1 or later available for builds configured with -Dgpl=false. Only the latest stable release receives security updates.
QMPlay2
QMPlay2 is a free video and audio player for Windows, Linux, and macOS. It handles formats and codecs supported by FFmpeg, along with Audio CDs, raw files, and chiptunes. Playback features include subtitles, network playback, hardware acceleration, spherical view, automatic interlace detection, and deinterlacing filters. A YouTube browser is included; playback requires yt-dlp, which QMPlay2 can download automatically. The documentation also describes using Streamlink as the player and an optional Last.fm extension for scrobbling with a configured account. Hardware video decoding options vary by system and include Vulkan Video, NVIDIA CUVID, Windows DXVA2 and D3D11VA, Linux/BSD VA-API, and macOS VideoToolBox. On Linux and BSD, multimedia-key controls and MPRIS2 commands are documented. QMPlay2 is licensed under LGPL-3.0. The latest macOS release requires Big Sur or later. Windows XP builds and the offline Windows build have stated service limitations, and the latest release page says the experimental Android package and Linux AppImage are no longer provided.