Even though streaming services are widely gaining popularity for watching videos and listening to music in today’s world of technology, we still use some local media players to play media files once in a while. When it comes to local or offline media players, VLC Media Player is one of the most popular choices among the majority of users across the world. VLC Media Player supports a wide range of video and audio formats, which undoubtedly is a big reason among other cool functionalities, behind its immense popularity among the users. Just like the moon too has scars, nothing in the world is perfect, and VLC Media Player too has some problems. VLC Media Player has problems dealing with corrupted video files. But that’s not the only issue.
The color reproduction on VLC Media Player isn’t that great, and sometimes the buttons might not respond, which might be a reason to look for some alternatives of VLC Media Player for Windows, in the first place. Just like the cloud has a silver lining, there are tons of media players, which can replace VLC Media Player as the default media player on your Windows 10/8/7 computer. Thus, I will be discussing the top 10 alternatives to VLC Media Player for Windows, in this article. All the apps might not be exactly similar to VLC Media Player, but you can undoubtedly use each of them as an alternative to VLC Media Player. Some might not have the advanced features, which VLC Media Player has to offer, but that isn’t going to be a deal-breaker for most users.
Top 10 alternatives to VLC Media Player
Windows Media Player Classic – Home Cinema
Not the most beautiful media player out there, but Windows Media Player Classic is one of the best media players out there if you are looking for comprehensive support for different audio and video files along with some advanced customization options. If you are looking for additional controls over the media files you will be playing on your computer, Windows Media Player Classic has a range of offerings, and you can play some part of the media files within a time range, have control over color management, VSync, GPU and audio or video decoder control, and everything else you can think of.
Windows Media Player Classic is a very lightweight VLC alternative media player, and you can run this program to play audio and video files at ease, with no lags or problems at all, even on computers with not-so-powerful hardware. Though Windows Media Player Classic has support for almost all the major audio and video formats you can think of, you can expand the support for additional using 3rd party codec packs like K-Lite Codec Pack and others.
KMPlayer
If you are looking for a more power-packed alternative to VLC Media Player on Windows, KMPlayer is the best alternative to get you whole nine yards of video playback. With support for a plethora of video formats and URL playback features, KMPlayer will be the one-stop media player for all your media playing needs. Some handy features of KMPlayer include the ability to control playback speed, extraction frame-by-frame, subtitle settings, and everything else when it comes to tweaking your audio and video playback.
That’s not just it. Talking about some of the unique features, which KMPlayer has to offer, you can even experience your regular videos in 3D or on VR view, which is my personal favorite when it comes to KMPlayer. KMPlayer features a different yet very user-friendly interface, which is handy for all types of users out there. For a better experience of listening to audio files, KMPlayer features an equalizer to fine-tune your music, exactly the way, your ears are longing for. So KMPlayer is undoubtedly worth giving a try.
GOM Player
If you are looking for a lightweight media player for all your requirements, GOM Player is the one, which is worth the few megabytes on your system. With support for all the major video and audio formats along with support for some streaming video formats, GOM Player can be the perfect mate for your everyday media playing requirements. GOM Player features a very easy and intuitive user interface with a dark background that most users appreciate.
The ability to control playback on GOM Player from different portable devices running like mobile phones with the remote control app is something that gives GOM Player some bonus points among users who want to enjoy media files like a pro. GOM Player is one of the best alternatives to VLC Media Player, and the completely free media player is compatible with most major versions of Windows. Even after offering a neat bouquet of features for a different class of users, GOM Player is very lightweight, which means, you can even run it on older systems without any problems, at all.
RealPlayer
For users, looking for more than just video playback, RealPlayer is the best media player you can choose, which offers more than just playing videos you can access locally. With support for most video formats like WMV, WMA, MP3, MP4, FLV, 3GP, MKV, AVI, etc. you can even play popular video files available across the internet with RealPlayer for Windows. RealPlayer can also help you download videos from the web, and store some videos privately with the help of it if multiple users use the same computer.
With RealPlayer, managing your media files is a dime a dozen, and you can even stream the media contents to your TV with popular streaming services like Chromecast, Roku, etc. RealPlayer can even make your tasks easier by offering you a platform to convert your videos files to a variety of formats or extract the audio out of it or burn your media files to optical drives, as well. Thus, RealPlayer is the perfect media organization package that will hardly leave you disappointed. With the Plus and Premium subscription of Real Player, you can even get extra functionalities, like the ability to store media files to the cloud, share videos through social media sites, and everything else to make media playback and media organization a breeze.
UMPlayer
UMPlayer is one of the best alternatives to VLC Media Player and a set of other media player programs for Windows, with support for almost all the audio and video formats you can think of. With support for over 250 audio and video codecs, you can use UMPlayer to run almost all the media files you have access to, needless to say, with a wide range of customization options. Besides audio and video files available locally, UMPlayer can also stream and record videos from YouTube or TV and radio cards attached to your computer.
UMPlayer comes with almost all the basic tools you will need for everyday usage, and it has support for skins to make UMPlayer look exactly what you want it to be. You can even customize the hotkeys to be a keyboard ninja when it comes to controlling the audio and video playback on UMPlayer. UMPlayer can automatically download subtitles for your movies in your preferred language, which is unquestionably great for movie geeks. Everything said the free and open-source UMPlayer can be the best alternative to VLC Media Player for newbies, as well as power users.
DivX Player
The DivX Player is here for quite some time now, and it has updated itself to fit the needs of the generation quite well. DivX Player is more than just a mere video player with support for almost all kinds of formats you throw at it. Just organize the media files like a pro, and cast it to your TV or anywhere else, which undoubtedly is something, most users appreciate. The features of DivX Player don’t end here. DivX Player can also play 4K videos like a charm, which is something great for users, who want to enjoy their videos in their full glory.
With the premium version of DivX Player, you will get everything you expect from a full-fledged media player. With the premium version, you can access media files from different cloud storage services and can get professional audio quality, which is going to be too satisfying for your ears, if you have a compatible audio device. DivX Player features a very beautiful and unique user interface, which though might not be everybody’s favorite, but is cool unquestionably.
PotPlayer
If you are looking for the closest alternative to VLC Media Player on Windows, I will name PotPlayer, which has support for basic to advanced functionalities to suit the needs of every class of users. With support for enhanced hardware acceleration and a wide variety of audio-video formats, you can use PotPlayer like a swiss knife, when it comes to playing media files. If you have multiple audio output devices, you can configure PotPlayer to skip the default audio device and use any other audio device you have access to for audio playback.
Apart from support for almost all the audio and video formats, PotPlayer supports all the major subtitle formats from different sources so that you can enjoy all your movies in different languages at ease. There are wide customization options, and you can customize the complete look and feel of PotPlayer with a set of different skins. Just like any other great media player nowadays, PotPlayer also has support for watching streaming videos and an equalizer to finetune the audio playback among other handy things.
Kodi
If you are looking for a media player which has support for setting up a home media server, as well, Kodi is the perfect app for all your needs. Kodi is open-source, and it will give you a cool media center-like user interface just like the Windows Media Center on Windows Vista and Windows 7. Not completely the same, but both are close to each other. With Kodi, you can even stream your media files to other computers, smartphones, or any other devices that support UPnP.
Apart from streaming media files, Kodi features a store, where you can download 3rd party add-ons to watch live TV, stream video files from different sources on the internet, play games, and do everything else to entertain yourself with no nuisances at all. Just download the appropriate add-on, grab a bucket of popcorn and start enjoying your movies sitting on the couch. Thus, Kodi is undoubtedly more than just a media player or a mere alternative for VLC Media Player on Windows.
See: Best Free & Open source Home Media Server Software
5KPlayer
5KPlayer is another great alternative to VLC Media Player that features a minimal user interface and comes with a wide range of built-in functionalities most users look for, nowadays. Needless to say, it has support for a wide variety of audio and video codecs, and you can even stream the media files to other devices using DLNA or AirPlay. You can even watch 360 degrees VR videos on 5KPlayer with no lags, at all. Just open 5KPlayer, and click on YouTube to watch YouTube videos directly on 5KPlayer. That might not be a great feature, but it is cool to play all streaming, as well as local videos in just a single piece of app.
The features of 5KPlayer also extend to the ability to download videos from different streaming service websites like YouTube and DailyMotion. Just paste the link and download the videos with just a single click. 5KPlayer has several other features, which you can find, once you start using the program. 5KPlayer can also deal with corrupted audio and video files better than how VLC Media Player deals with them. 5KPlayer might not be the perfect alternative to VLC Media Player on Windows, but it undoubtedly offers some functionalities, which VLC Media Player doesn’t have to offer.
SMPlayer
Support for multiple audio and video formats, a wide range of customization options, and support for streaming media files from different sources are some features that literally sum up SMPlayer for Windows. With a very user-friendly user interface, the lightweight media player is the perfect alternative for VLC Media Player for Windows that directs all the problems you might face, using VLC Media Player. Just like Media Player Classic, UM Player doesn’t offer a very beautiful user interface, which isn’t a deal-breaker, however.
The not-so-beautiful yet simple user interface makes it highly compatible even with computers that don’t have powerful hardware, which eventually helps SMPlayer play all audio and video files without lags or any sort of issues. SMPlayer is open-source and you can even search for and play videos directly from YouTube, on SMPlayer, just like other great media players available today as the best alternatives to VLC Media Player. SMPlayer also features a wide range of filters which can be handy if you want to watch your already seen videos with a small twist.
When it comes to media playback, the only thing the majority of users will look for is buttery smooth, and lag-free playback. VLC Media Player can handle video playback quite well, but if you are more into organizing your media files besides just playing them, almost all the media players or the alternatives to VLC Media Players I have mentioned here will come in handy. Depending upon what exactly you need from your media player, you should choose the most appropriate media player judiciously and try maintaining a balance between playback and the secondary functionalities.
Hope the list of top 10 alternatives of VLC Media Player for Windows was useful for you. Did I miss out on any great media players? Don’t forget to name it in the comment section down below.
Great Content. Really informative and helpful. Thanks for sharing it with us. Appreciate it. Keep it up.