mpv vs Quod Libet
mpv
mpv.io
Quod Libet
quodlibet.readthedocs.ioSide by side
| Figure | mpv | Quod Libet |
|---|---|---|
| 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) | 8.2 (#24) |
| Format support | Matroska (MKV),MP4 | MP3,Ogg Vorbis,Speex,Opus,FLAC,Musepack,MOD,XM,IT,WavPack,MPEG-4 AAC,WMA,MIDI,Monkey's Audio |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Applications and scripts can control mpv through JSON IPC, the libmpv C API, or user scripts. | The project lists plugins for MusicBrainz, CDDB, Last.fm, Sonos, Logitech Squeezebox, dBus, and MQTT. |
| License | mpv is GPLv2 or later by default, with an LGPLv2.1-or-later option when built with -Dgpl=false. | Quod Libet and its associated modules are free software distributed under GNU GPL version 2 or later, with alternate licensing terms possibly applying to some files or modules. |
| License model | free | free |
| Network playback | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | Official installation guidance lists Windows, macOS, Linux packages, Android, and several BSD and Haiku packages. | The project repository describes Quod Libet as available for Linux, Windows, and macOS. |
| Product | mpv is a free, open source, cross-platform command-line media player. | Quod Libet is a GTK+-based audio player and music library manager written in Python that uses the Mutagen tagging library. |
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.
Quod Libet
Quod Libet is a free audio player for Linux, macOS and Windows, built with GTK+ and written in Python. It handles libraries with tens of thousands of songs and supports formats including MP3, Ogg Vorbis, Speex, Opus, FLAC, Musepack, MOD, XM, IT, WavPack, MPEG-4 AAC, WMA, MIDI and Monkey’s Audio. Users can browse by tags or directories and search with regular expressions, structured boolean logic or Python expressions. Its tag editor supports Unicode, batch changes and renaming files based on tags. Playback features include Replay Gain, shuffle, a configurable queue, podcasts, Internet radio and playlist import and export in XSPF, M3U and PLS formats. Plugins include integrations for MusicBrainz, CDDB, Last.fm, Sonos and Logitech Squeezebox; the feature page lists more than 80 contributed plugins. Podcast feeds are checked every two hours, and episodes can be downloaded. Radio streams support MP3 and Ogg Vorbis; other formats may need additional GStreamer plugins, and stations cannot be added to playlists or the play queue. Playback requires GStreamer or xine-lib. Quod Libet is free software under GNU GPL version 2 or later, though alternate terms may apply to some files or modules. The listed macOS 4.6.1 disk image is marked unofficial.