QMPlay2 vs SMPlayer
QMPlay2
github.com
SMPlayer
smplayer.infoSide by side
| Figure | QMPlay2 | SMPlayer |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Media Player Software | 8.7 (#8) | 8.6 (#9) |
| Spec score · Video Player Software | 8.2 (#13) | 7.9 (#18) |
| Format support | FFmpeg-supported formats and codecs; Audio CD; raw files; chiptunes | 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 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Hardware acceleration | Yes | Yes |
| License | The repository identifies its license as LGPL-3.0. | SMPlayer is free and open source under the GPL license. |
| License model | free | free |
| Network playback | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | 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. | Windows,Linux,macOS |
| Subtitle support | Yes | Yes |
| Support | The project repository provides Issues and Discussions as places for community reports and questions. | The project directs users to its forum for help and to its bug tracker to report bugs. |
| YouTube | The player includes a YouTube browser and uses external yt-dlp software to play YouTube videos, downloading it automatically when needed. | SMPlayer can play YouTube videos, and an optional plugin can search for them. |
Plans
In their own words
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.
SMPlayer
SMPlayer is a free media player for Windows, Linux, and macOS. It includes built-in codecs to play most audio and video formats without requiring external codecs. Listed formats include AVI, ASF/WMV/WMA, QT/MOV/MP4, RealAudio/RealVideo, Ogg/OGM, Matroska, MPEG-1/2, H.264, MPEG-4, MP3, AAC, AC3, and DTS. The player supports network playback, subtitles, hardware acceleration, and 4K playback. It provides a graphical interface for MPlayer and can also use mpv as its playback engine. SMPlayer remembers playback position and settings such as audio track, subtitles, and volume. Controls include playback speed adjustment, audio and video filters, audio and subtitle delay adjustment, and a video equalizer. It can play YouTube videos, search for subtitles through OpenSubtitles, and send local videos or online streams to Chromecast devices. The project is free and open source under the GPL, offers source code, and directs users to a forum for help and a bug tracker for reporting problems.