sitealternatives
Music · 8 alternatives

Instead of MPC-HC, try one of these 8.

Every alternative is lined up against MPC-HC on what people actually switch for: price, open source, self-hosting, offline use and platforms. MPC-HC sits in the first row, so you can see what you give up.

Show onlySorted by likes · 8 of 8
Alternative
Price
Open source
Self-host
Offline
Platforms
Website
MPC-HC
Featherweight Windows player that sips CPU and memory.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win
Visit
VLC Media Player#1
Plays nearly any audio or video file on every platform.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux · Android · iOS
Visit
PotPlayer#2
Feature-heavy Windows media player with strong video support.
PriceFree
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win
Visit
MPV#3
Minimal, scriptable player prized for rock-solid playback.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux · Android
Visit
SMPlayer#4
MPlayer front-end that remembers settings per file.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux
Visit
MPlayer#5
Venerable command-line player that still opens nearly everything.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux
Visit
GOM Player#6
Bundles its own codecs to open stubborn or damaged media.
PriceFreemium
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Android · iOS
Visit
MPC-BE#7
Windows fork of MPC-HC with extra playback tools.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win
Visit
IINA#8
Polished macOS player built on mpv with gesture controls.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Mac
Visit

Price colours on the Visit buttons: FreeFreemiumPaid

How to read this. The first row is MPC-HC itself, for comparison. “Yes” means fully supported by the maker. “Partial” means it works with caveats. Likes reflect community popularity; vendors can’t pay for them or for placement. How we compare.

MPC-HC alternatives at a glance

MPC-HC is a free music app. We compared 8 alternatives: 6 are open source, 7 are completely free, 0 can be self-hosted and 8 work fully offline. The most popular is VLC Media Player, with 8k likes.

Most liked overallVLC Media Player

Plays nearly any audio or video file on every platform.

Free · Open source · Works offline
Best free optionPotPlayer

Feature-heavy Windows media player with strong video support.

Free · Works offline
Best open-source optionMPV

Minimal, scriptable player prized for rock-solid playback.

Free · Open source · Works offline
Best for offline useSMPlayer

MPlayer front-end that remembers settings per file.

Free · Open source · Works offline

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